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,43. 



AN ACCOUNT 

OF THE 

Soldiers' and Sailors' 

MONUMENT 

ERECTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE CITY OF 




NASHUA, N. H, 



IN THE YEAR EIGHTEEN HUNDRED EIGHTY-NINE, 

IN HONOR OF THE MEN OF NASHUA 

WHO SERVED THEIR COUNTRY DURING THE WAR OF 

THE REBELLION, A. D. 1801-65. 



Publlslied toy order of the City Councils, ISroyemlpe]:', 1889. 



NASHUA, N. H. 

JAMES H. BARKER, CITY PRINTER. 
1889. 



S f 3 7 ^ 






RESOLUTION, 



Providing for a memorial volume of the Soldiers' and Sail- 
ors' Monument and appropriation not exceeding two hundred 
and fifty dollars. 

CITY OF NASHUA, 

In the year of our Lord, one thousand, eight hundred and 
eighty-nine. 

Resolved^ By the Mayor and Aldermen and Common Coun- 
cil of the City of Nashua, in City Councils assembled as fol- 
lows : — 

That the Committee appointed to carry out the provisions of 
resolution number (978) nine hundred and seventy-eight, passed 
by the City Councils January 29th, 1889, be and is hereby au- 
thorized and requested to cause to be prepared and published a 
memoriol volume, which shall contain an historical account of 
the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument erected as provided in said 
Resolution, together with the proceedings at the laying of the 
Corner-Stone, and at the Dedication of said Monument, includ- 
ing such papers and documents as said Committee may deem 
appropriate. 

Said volume shall be prepared in such manner and form as 
said Committee may consider suitable, and the edition pub- 
lished shall consist of five hundred copies. 

* * ***** 

In Board of Aldermen, passed October, 22, 1889. 

Charles H. Burke, Mayor. 
Charles S. Bussell, City Clerk. 

In Board of Common Council, passed November 12, 1889. 
Henry P. Whitney, President, 
George E. Danforth, Clerk. 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



The Monument, _ _ _ _ Frontispiece. 
The Soldier, - - - - Offosite Page ly. 
The Sailor, - - - _ Opposite Page 6y. 



CONTENTS. 



Page. 

GiTY Government, ......... 

Resolution, .......... 13 

The Monument, 17 

The Building Committee, 19 

First Report of the Building Committee, ... 21 

Laying the Corner-Stone, ....... 25 

The Procession, ......... 29 

Annovincement by His Honor, Ciiarles H. Burke, Mayor of 

Nashua, .......... 31 

Address in honor of the Unknown Dead, by Comrade 

FrankG. Noyes, G. A. R., 32 

Address of Mayor Burke, ....... 35 

Masonic Ceremonies, ........ 37 

Address of the Grand Master, ...... 38 

List of articles deposited in Corner-Stone, ... 39 

Oration by Colonel Frank G. Noyes. ..... 45 

Second Report of the Building Committee, . . . 53 

Arrangements for the Dedication, ..... 57 

Description of the Monument, ...... 67 

The Day, 75 

The Procession, .......... 81 

The Dedication, 93 

Order of Exercises ........ 9G 

Unveiling of the Monument and its delivery to the City by 

the Building Committee, ...... 97 

Acceptance in behalf of the City and address hy Mayor 

Burke, 98 

Dedicatory Ceremonies by the Grand Army of the Repub- 
lic, 101 

Oration by Charles H. Burns, . . . . . .107 

Closing Exercises, ........ 119 

Final Proceedings, ......... 121 



CITY GOVERNMENT. 



CITY OF NASHUA, N. H. 



CITY GOVERNMENT FOR THE YEAR 1S59. 



BOARD OF MAYOR AND ALDERMEN. 



Hon. Charles H. Burke, (Mayor,) Chairman. 

Charles S. Bussell, (City Clerk,) Clerk 



Ward 1. Charles T. Lund. 
" 2. Edward T. Morrill. 
" 3. Eugene D. Perrault. 
" 4. William H. Beasom. 
" 5. John D. Sullivan. 
" 6. James C. Moody. 

Alphonse Burque. 

John J. Sullivan. 
" 7. Ira H. Proctor, 
" 8. George L. Bugbee, 



CITY GOVERNMENT. (Continued.) 



BOARD OF COMMON COUNCIL. 



Henry P. Whitney, President. 

George E. Danforth, Clerk 



Ward 1. Harry W. Ramsdell, 
Edward M. Oilman. 

" 2. Alfred W. Heald, 
Charles E. Faxon. 

" 3. John Ledoux, 

Frank B. Stark. 

" 4. JosiAH N. Woodward, 
James H. Barker. 

" 5. Charles F. Sanders, 
James Mul vanity. 

" 6. Henry P. Whitney, 

George F. Trowbridge, 
Clarence A. Slate, 
Frank P. Rideout, 
Edmond D. Lucier, 
James H. Moran. 

" 7. George E. Holt, 
Joseph L. Clough. 

" 8. Harlan P. Ward well, 
William C. Leahy. 



THE RESOLUTION. 



RESOLUTION. 



For the erection of a Soldier's Monument and appropriation 
not exceeding twelve thousand dollars. 

CITY OF NASHUA, 

In the year of our Lord, one thousand, eight hundred and 
eighty-nine. 

Resolved^ By the Mayor and Aldermen and Common Coun- 
cil of the City of Nashua, in City Councils assembled as fol- 
lows : — 

That a sum not to exceed twelve thousand dollars be and 
hereby is appropriated for a Soldiers' Monument, the said 
monument to be located on Abbot Square. 

That the Mayor, two Aldermen, three Councilmen and 
three ex-soldiers of the War of the Rebellion be appointed a 
Committee to carry said resolution into effect. The same to 
be appointed by the Mayor in Joint Convention. The Mayor 
to be chairman of said Committee. 

That the City Treasurer is authorized and instructed to issue 
two City notes for six thousand dollars, ($6000) each. 

One payable in the year 1894. The second in 1895. The 
money to be used to meet the above appropriation. 

In Board of Common Council, passed January 29, 1889. 

Henry P. Whitney, President. 
George E. Danforth, Clerk. 

In Board of Aldermen, passed January 29, 1889. 

Charles H. Burke, Mayor. 
Charles S. Bussell, City Clerk. 



THE MONUMENT. 



THE MONUMENT. 



In pursuance of the provisions of the foregoing Resolution, 
a committee was appointed on the 29th day of January, 1889, 
called the Building Committee of the Soldiers' and 
Sailors' Monument, and was constituted and organized as 
follows : — 

Charles H. Burke, Mayor, (Chairman.) 
aldermen, 
John D. Sullivan, 
Charles T. Lund. 



councilmen. 
Alfred W. Heald, 
Harlan P. Wardwell, 
James H. Moran, 

Charles W. Stevens, 
Frank G. Noyes, 
Royal B. Prescott, 

Secretary. 



On part of 

the 

City Government. 



On part of the 
Veteran Soldiers. 



The Building Committee immediately began its work. On 
the 4th day of February, circulars were issued, and advertise- 
ments were forthwith inserted in the leading architectural maga- 
zines and periodicals published in Boston, New York and Chi- 
cago, inviting designs, plans and proposals from architects, de- 
signers, builders and contractors. In response to these invita- 
tions, thirty-six drawing of plans and designs for a monument 



20 THE MONUMENT. 

were submitted to the Committee within the time designated, 
namely, the 15th day of March, 1889. On that day the draw- 
ings were examined by the Committee in the room of the Mayor 
and Aldermen, and each exhibitor was given an opportunity, as 
advertised, to appear before the Committee and describe, 
explain and point out the merits of his design, and also state 
the estimated cost, or to offer direct bids or proposals for build- 
ing the monument according to the plan or design sub- 
mitted. Every design submitted was carefully examined by 
the full Committee. Most of the designs were presented by 
their respective authors, and ample time was given to each to 
fully acquaint the Committee with its merits, and actual or 
estimated cost. 

The Committee after a patient and exhaustive examination 
of each plan, both separately and by comparison, selected and 
without a dissenting voice, voted to adopt the plan designed 
by Mr. T. M. Perry, architect for Messrs. Frederick & Field, 
quarrymen and builders, of Quincy, Mass., by whom the 
design was owned and submitted. The owners of the chosen 
design refused to sell, and declined to furnish it with plans and 
specifications, for other parties to estiinate and bid upon. They 
offered to execute a contract to furnish all material and build a 
monument from the design, according to plans and specifica- 
tions submitted, for a sum of money within the limit of the 
appropriation. 

On the 31st day of March, a contract was executed by the 
Building Committee, in behalf of the City of Nashua, and 
Messrs. Frederick & Field, which provided for the erection of 
a monument on Abbot Square, which should be finished and 
ready for dedication on or before the 15th day of October, 
1889. 



REPORT OF THE BUILDING COMMITTEE. 



REPORT OF THE BUILDING COMMITTEE. 



Nashua, N. H., May 7, 1889. 
To THE City Councils : — 

Gentlemen : — Your Committee appointed under the provi- 
sions of a joint resolution entitled : — "A Resolution for the 
erection of a Soldiers' Monument, and appropriation not exceed- 
ing twelve thousand dollars," passed January 29th, 1889, beg 
leave respectfully to report progress and state, 

First : — That your said Committee in behalf of the Citv has 
executed a contract with Messrs. Frederick & Field, quarry- 
men and builders of Quincy, Mass., for the erection and com- 
pletion of a suitable Monument to carry said Resolution into 
effect, on or before the 15th day of October next. 

Second : — That your said Committee has made arrangements 
to lay the Corner-Stone of said Monument with appropriate 
ceremonies on Thursday afternoon, May 30th instant. Decora- 
tion Day. 

Third : — That your said Committee begs i-espectfully to 
suggest that your honorable bodies take such action as you 
may deem proper, to be present officially on the occasion of 
laying the Corner-Stone on Abbot Square, at the time stated 
above. 

Respectfully submitted. 

In behalf of the Building Committee, 

Charles H. Burke, Mayor and Chairman. 

Report read and accepted May 14, 1889, In Board of Alder- 
men, 

Charles S. Bussell, City Clerk. 

Accepted by the Common Council, May 28th, 1889. 

George E. Danforth, Clerk. 



LAYING THE CORNER-STONE. 



LAYING THE CORNER-STONE. 



On Thursday, May 30, the Corner-Stone was laid with 
imposing ceremonies by the Grand Master of Masons of New 
Hampshire, assisted by the proper officers of the Grand Lodge. 
The day being Decoration, or Momorial Day, was observed 
more generally than ever before in Nashua. The weather was 
all that could be desired, the atmosphere cool and bracing, the 
streets free from dust, and the sun shining out in all the delight- 
fulness of a beautiful June da}'. Everything was apparently 
in harmony with the occasion, which was one that interested 
every citizen of Nashua, as well as the people of the surround- 
ing towns, who came by thousands to witness the procession, 
listen to the orations, and in some manner express their inter- 
est in paying their respects to the veterans who stood between 
them and the wall of fire which raged so fiercely in the 
davs of the Rebellion. The mills were closed and business 
was generally suspended, and this Memorial Day in Nashua 
will be remembered by those who participated, as one of the 
most historic in their lives. In the forenoon delegations from 
John G. Foster Post, No. 7, G. A. R., visited the older and 
outlying cemeteries, viz., the Nashua Cemetery, the Amherst 
Street Cemetery, the Hudson Cemeter}', and the Harbor burv- 
ing grounds, and decorated the graves of the heroic dead who 
served their country during the war of the Rebellion. 

At 1.30 p. m., the comrades of the Grand Army of the 
Republic formed in line and marched to decorate the graves of 



28 LAYING THE CORNER-STONE. 

veterans reposing in the Hollis Street Cemetery. The Grand 
Army column was formed on Main Street, right resting on 
Franklin Street, in the following order: — 

City Marshal, W. C. Tolles, with Platoon of Police. 
Chief Marshal, E. T. Perkins. 
Chief of Staff, E. D. Franklin. 
Chaplain, Rev. W. H. Moreland. 
Aids:— R. C. Duffy, C. H. Harris, Macy T. Shattuck, Charles Marden, 
L. F. Thurber, H. H. Putnam, John H. Fields, John D. Sullivan, 
George F. Perham, Ira S. Brigham, A. D. Walker, E. D. Eaton, 
Fred Runnells, William Kennedy and Joseph Ackerman. 
Second Regiment Band. 
Co. I. (Foster Rifles.) Second Regiment. N. H. N.G. 
Co. C, Second Regiment, N. H. N. G. 
Co. A, High School Cadets. 
Sons of Veterans as escort to John G. Foster Post, No. 7, G. A. R. 
John G. Foster Post, No. 7, G. A. R. 
Knights of Pythias. 
Orator and President of the Day. 
His Honor the Mayor. 
City Government. 
Invited Guests and Citizens in Carriages. 

The column moved through Main and Kinsley Streets to the 
Cemetery, where the ceremony of decorating the soldiers' 
graves was performed by John G. Foster Post, No. 7, G. A. R., 
assisted by the Sons of Veterans. The column then returned 
through Hollis, Chestnut, Pearl and Main Streets to the City 
Hall, where a halt was made, and the battalion was formally 
turned over to Chief Marshal of the day, M. A. Taylor. 

Here the line of procession for 

LAYING THE CORNER-STONE 

was formed, right resting on City Hall building, and marched 
to Abbot Square, through Main and Concord Streets, in the 
following order : — 



THE PROCESSION. 29 



THE PROCESSION. 

City Marshal Tolles with Platoon of Police. 

Chief Marshal, M. A. Taylor. 

Chief of Staff, Eugene P. Whitney. 

Aids : — Alvin S. Eaton, Charles S. Collins, H. A. Bowers, Patrick 

Lonergan, Frank H. Kellogg, Henry P. Whitney, W.D.Dodge 

and A. A. Hall. 

Second Regiment Band, W. A. Cummings, leader, 
Sam. N. Hoyt, drum major. 

FIRST DIVISION. 

Major J. E. Tolles, commanding battalion, and staff; Adjutant C. E. 

Faxon, Quartermaster George P. Kimball, Paymaster Charles A. 

Roby, and Chaplain George W. Grover. 

Co. I, Second Regiment. N. H. N. G., Capt, E. H. Parmenter. 

Co. C, Second Regiment, N. H. N. G., Capt. H. S. Stevens. 

Co. A, High School Cadets, Capt. A. G. Shattnck. 

SECOND DIVISION. 

E. T. Perkins, Marshal, and Staff. 
John G. Foster Post 7, G. A. R., Alfred Chase, Commander, Charles 
McGregor, Adjutant. 
J. Q^A. Warren Camp, Sons of Veterans, Capt. George E. Cross. 
Nashua Fire Department, Charles H. Whitnej', Chief Engineer; 
Charles N. Colburn, George W. Piplar, George F. Adams, Frank 
B. Hale, Assistant Engineers. 
Torrent Steam Fire Engine Company, S. R. Collins, Assistant Fore- 
man. 
Niagara Steam Fire Engine Company. L. I. Minard, Foreman. 

Pennichuck Hose Company, J. F. Brown, Foreman. 
Union Hook and Ladder Company, W. F. Barnes, Foreman. 

THIRD DIVISION. 

George E. Bagley. Marshal, and Staff. 

Moody Drum Corps. 

Canton A, Patriarchs Militant. Charles T. Lund, Commanding. 

S. S. Davis Division, Knights of Pythias; First Lieutenant, David M. 

Rollins, Commanding. 

Foster Rifles Drum Corps. 

T. B. Crowley Conclave, Knight of Sherwood Forest, Arthur Sargent, 

Commanding. 



30 THE PROCESSION. 

FOURTH DIVISION. 

L. P. A. Lavoie, Marshal, and Staff. 
St. Jean Band, Anaclet Larivee, leader. 
Division No. 1, A. O. H., Thomas McCarthy, President. 
Division No. 2, A. O. H..J. J. Doyle, President; William Molloy, 
Marshal. 
Union St. Jean Baptiste Society, E. D. Perrault, President; P. D. Car- 
den, Marshal. 

FIFTH DIVISION. 

George E. Heath, Marshal, and Staff. 
Chelmsford Band. 
St. George Commandery, K. T., Joseph Shattuck, Eminent Com- 
mander; George B. Bowler, Generalissimo; James H. Hunt, 
Captain General. 
Trinity Commandery, K. T., Manchester; Charles C. Hayes, Eminent 
Commander; George I. McAllister, Generalissimo; Harvey L. 
Currier, Captain General. 
Mt. Horeb Commandery, K. T., Concord ; Frank L. Sanders, Eminent 
Commander; Charles F. Batchelder, Generalissimo; George 

O. Dickerman, Captain General. 
Grand Commandery, Knights Templar, of New Hampshire. 
Grand Lodge, A. F. and A. M.. of New Hampshire in carriages : M. W. 
Grand Master, George W. Currier, Nashua ; R. W. Deputy Grand 
Master, Frank D. Woodbury, Concord; R. W. Senior Grand 
Warden, John Pinder, Portsmouth; R. W. Junior Grand War- 
den, Charles C. Hayes, Manchester; R. W. Grand Treas- 
urer, Joseph Kidder, Manchester; R. W. Grand Secretary, 
George P. Cleaves. Concord; Rev. Henry B. Smith, R. W. 
Chaplain, Nashua; George E. Beacham, W. Senior Grand Dea- 
con, Great Falls; Henry A. Marsh, W. Junior Grand Deacon, 
Nashua; George C. Perkins of Lebanon, John K. Wilson of 
Manchester, Charles C. Danforth of Concord, Alfred R. Evans 
of Gorham, W. Grand Stewards ; Joseph W. Hildreth, W. Grand 
Marshal, Manchester ; John P. Bartlett, W.Grand Sword Bear- 
er, Manchester; Nathaniel S. Gale of Penacook, John C. Bick- 
ford of Manchester, W. Grand Pursuivants; Samuel W. Emer- 
son, Grand Tyler, Concord. 
Orator, Colonel Frank G. Noyes; Mayor, Hon. Charles H. Burke, and 
Building Committee of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument. 
City Government, ex-Mayors and Invited Guests, in 
carriages. 



LAYING THE CORNER-STONE. 31 

On the arrival of the procession at Abbot Square, the va- 
rious bodies were skillfully massed about the foundation of the 
monument, while the thousands of spectators filled the streets 
and sidewalks bordering on the square. 

The Mayor and members of the City Government, the Grand 
Master of Masons and his staff, the Orator of the Day, the 
President, the Orator and other officers of the day and even- 
ing of the Grand Army Post, together with the invited guests 
were escorted to seats on the grand stand and raised platform 
which had been temporarily erected south and west of the 
foundation. 

LAYING THE CORNER-STONE OF THE SOLDIERS' AND SAIL- 
ORS* MONUMENT. 

The solemn ceremonies attending the laying of the Corner- 
stone were then proceeded with in the following order : — 

1. Announcement by His Honor, Charles H. Burke, Mayor of 
Nashua, as follows : — 

Fellow Citizens : — 

One of the beautiful usages of the Grand Army of the Re- 
public on Decoration day, is to scatter flowers under a memo- 
rial arch, and listen to an address in honor of the Unknown 
Dead. This being Decoration day, the comrades of that or- 
der have been invited to perform those ceremonies around 
these foundation stones, before the Corner-Stone is laid. I 
therefore take pleasure in introducing to you the President of 
the day for the Grand Army of the Republic, Captain E. M. 
Shaw, who will take charge of that ceremony. 

2. Strewing the foundation of the monument with flowers in honor 
of the Unknown Dead. 

Captain Shaw then announced that John G. Foster Post, No. 
7, would strew the foundation of the monument with flowers in 
accordance with the beautiful custom of the Order, and gave 



32 THE UNKNOWN DEAD. 

the necessary commands. The line of Veterans then marched 

slowly around, to the music of a dirge, and cast their floral 

offerings upon the foundation, as they passed by. 

3. Address in honor of the Unknown Dead, (upon invitation of 
John G. Foster Post, No. 7, G. A. R.) by Comrade Frank G. Noyes. 

The President of the day presented Comrade Noyes, who 

delivered the following address : — 

ADDRESS. 

Mr. Commander and Veterans : — 

We have strewn the graves of our honored dead with the 
sweet flowers of spring. We have decorated them with 
the garlands of love. Let us now entwine chaplets from 
the flowers of memory and hope, and cast them forth with 
faith that favoring winds will waft them to decorate the last 
earthh' resting places where thousands of our heroes repose in 
unknown graves. 

While we cannot plant flags at the heads of all those graves, 
as you have placed them here to-day, we have the grateful sat- 
isfaction of knowing that what they fought for, now floats over 
them wherever they lie under the sod on the face of this broad 
country. The same old flag, that fired upon in 1861, brought 
us here to-day. The same old flag, that was unfurled from 
every hilltop, in every valley, and in every city, town and vil- 
lage throughout our loyal North ; " and tearful eyes looked up 
to it, and firm knit hearts and planted feet w^ere underneath, 
and dearer than life or home and sacred next to our faith and 
our God, is that old flag yet." We have assembled here, com- 
rades, solemnly and devoutly to perform a sacred ceremony. 
We have come, to strew these sweet symbols of promise upon 
this foundation of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, in hon- 
or of the memory of Unknown Dead. But we are here also 



THE UNKNOWN DEAD. 33 

to perform another duty. We have come to drop a tear to the 
memory of our fellow-soldiers who sleep their last sleep in un- 
known graves. We have come to mingle our tears of sympa- 
thy for those desolate homes whose remaining members have 
not even the sad consolation of scattering flowers over the 
graves of their loved and lost. And while we perform these 
sad, yet grateful duties, may we not indulge a generous im- 
pulse and extend our sympathies? May we not, at this sacred 
hour, throw the mantle of charity and forgiveness over the er- 
rors of our brothers, and let the Boys in Blue shed a sympa- 
thetic tear for the beareaved and desolate households of the 
Boys in Gray. The Boys in Gray were human, — they erred ; 
Let the Boys in Blue assume a divine attribute and, to-day, for- 
give. Then it may be said : — 

" Sadly, but not up-braiding, 

The generous deed was done, 
In the storm of the years that are fading. 

No braver battle was won. 
Under the sod and the dew, 

Waiting the judgment day. 
Under the blossoms the Blue; 

Under the garlands, the Gray." 

" No more shall the war cry sever. 

Or the winding river be red, 
They banish our anger forever, 

When they laurel the graves of our dead. 
Under the sod and the dew. 

Waiting the judgment day, 
Love and tears for the Blue. 

Tears and love for the Gray." 

Manv of us have already forgiven. If there are any of you, 
my comrades, who have not, let me entreat you by the right 
of one who served for four long years under your flag, and 
whose proudest boast it is that no drop of disloyal blood ever 
flowed through his veins ; let me entreat you by the precious 



34 THE UNKNOWN DEAD. 

blood shed ; by the woe and desolation of mournful homes ; 
ave, by the example of Him who watches alike over friend and 
foe, and who in the crisis of His persecution and in the bitter- 
ness of His woe, cried, " Father, forgive them, for they know 
not what they do." I entreat you to let the recording angel of 
heaven's chancery as he writes down this day's memorial, en- 
ter against names of us all that we have forgiven our ene- 
mies. 

We have spoken of the unknown dead, unknown? They 
should not be unknown. When they lost their names with 
their lives, the pouring of that precious blood should have 
been a re-baptism, and the names of them at the re-christen- 
ing should have been the same, and I would have it inscribed 
on the slab at the head of every grave i^.ow marked "Un- 
known ", so that when the sad-eyed mourner should see the 
inscription on any grave she might sav, '' Here reposes mv 
dead. At his re-baptism with his own heart's blood, he was 
named loyalty and here is his grave." 

The Unknown Dead. 

"On Fame's eternal camping ground 

Their silent tents are spread, 
And glory guards with solemn round 

The bivouac of the dead." 

Oh ! dear unknown. To-day the same beautiful sunlight 
that floods the graves of our known dead ; the same gentle 
wind that fans the blossoms we have placed upon these heroes' 
graves, lingers over the spot where rests the body of him for 
whom some aching heart is striving to still the longing, be- 
cause the sad consolation of bearing a tribute of flowers to her 
dolized dead is denied her. To the memory of that vast army 
of the unknown — yet alas ! only too well known and remem- 
bered — the chords of some heart are vibrating with a sad, unut- 



THE MAYORS ADDRESS. 35 

terable longing, that to those here present who have with us the 
graves of our loved ones, can never be felt in all its pathos of 
wistfulness and hopelessness, the unknown dead ! There 
are none ! Every hero who yielded his soul on the field of honor, 
and went to an unmarked and unrecognized grave, left behind 
him some faithful and devoted one, whose grief is the deeper, 
and whose tears fall the more bitterly, because her cry for the 
sad consolation of shedding them by her soldier's grave is a 
hopeless one. Ah ! dear unknown, wherever you are this day 
sleeping ! Though the only tribute upon your graves be the 
blossoms nature reverently places there ; though the birds chant 
your only requiem ; may the incense from these our offer- 
ings, gemmed by our tears, hallowed by the prayers sent forth 
from hearts full of sacred memories, reach you in your lonely, 
unvisited graves, and make your sleep sweeter in that dream- 
less peace which comes alike to the known and unknown who 
have joined the silent majority. 

4 Address by His Honor, the Mayor, as follows : — 

Eellotv Citizens : — 

More than twenty-four years have elapsed since those of our 
brethren who arose in open revolt against the Federal Union, 
laid down their arms. Since that memorable time, hundreds 
of structures have been erected throughout tlie loyal States, in 
honor of the men who served their country on land or sea, dur- 
ing the terrible days of the civil war. Repeated projects and 
efforts to carry out a similar plan in honor of the men of 
Nashua, have failed of success until the present year, when it 
was resei-ved for the City Councils of 1889 to provide in behalf 
of the people of Nashua, for the erection of a suitable monu- 
ment to perpetuate the memory of the Soldiers and Sailors of 
our city, who took their lives in their hands and went out from 



36 THE MAYORS ADDRESS. 

among us, in defense of their Country. Nashua's loyalty to the 
Union was exemplified by the large quota of volunteers from 
our midst, in response to the various calls of the government for 
men. From our farms, w^ork-shops and factories — indeed, from 
all the pursuits, callings and professions of life, sprung forth re- 
cruits to battle for an imperilled Union. With all due respect 
to the honored members of the City Governments which have 
preceded us — it is with feelings of regret that I call attention 
to the fact, that the names of these brave men have never been 
enrolled upon the official records of our city. Unfortunately 
the State records and rosters pertaining to Nashua are incom- 
plete and unreliable. Your committee have labored under 
great difficulties in making up the roll of honor to be deposited 
in this Corner-Stone. That roll of honor contains the names 
of 1355 men who were credited to Nashua's quota. The 
graves of about 275 of this number have to-day been strewn 
with flowers by the comrades of John G. Foster Post, and an 
unknown number sleep whei'e they fell. "The structure to be 
erected on the solid foundations which are in position before 
you, will not be needed for the dead, the chief purpose of the 
admonishing sculpture will be to teach the living, in all com- 
ing time, lessons of patriotism and loyalty to country." May 
the monument to be erected stand through years of peace 
and plenty, not only adding new dignity to our fair city, but 
as a fitting emblem of a free government of a free people. 
We are here to-day to lay the Corner-Stone of that monument, 
and in the name and behalf of the honorable City Councils, 
and of the people of Nashua, by whom this structure is to be 
erected, I bid you all a hearty welcome. 

5. Singing The National Anthem, "America," in Concert, by Pu- 
pils of the Public Schools of Nashua, under the direction of George 
E. Crafts. 

6. Presentation of Dr. George W. Currier, Grand Master of Masons 



MASONIC CEREMONIES. 37 

of New Hampshire, bj His Honor, the Mayor, with the request that 
the Corner-Stone be laid in accordance with the forms and usages of 
the Order of Free and Accepted Masons, as follows : — 

Most Worshipful Grand Master of the Grand Masonic 
Lodge of New Hampshire : — 

In response to an invitation extended to you in behalf of the 
citizens of Nashua, you are Iiere to-day, attended by the distin- 
guished officers and members of the fraternity, for the purpose 
of laying the Corner-Stone of a structure to be erected on these 
foundations, in honor of the Soldiers and Sailors of Nashua. 
As the chief magistrate of the city, and in the name and be- 
half of its citizens, it is my agreeable duty to ask you now to 
take charge of these ceremonies, and see that this Corner-Stone 
be laid in accordance with the time honored customs of the or- 
der. 

The Grand Master replied as follows : — 

Tour Honor and Gentlemen of the Committee: — 

It was with much pleasure that the Grand Lodge of Masons in 
New Hampshire accepted your kind invitation to lay the Cor- 
ner-Stone of the structure here to be erected to perpetuate the 
memory of those brave men who went forth at their Country's 
call, with their lives in their hands, to maintain the supremacy 
of their Country's flag, on land and on sea, at home and 
abroad. 

From time immemorial it has been the custom of the Fra- 
ternity of Free and Accepted Mason to assemble, when re- 
quested, upon the occasion of laying the Corner-Stone of any 
public structure, and perform certain ceremonies of the craft. 
In accordance with that time honored custom, I will now as- 
sume charge, and proceed with the ceremony, as provided by 
our Order. 



38 MASONIC CEREMONIES. 

7. Ceremony of Laying the Corner-Stone of the Soldiers' and 
Sailors' Monument by the Grand Lodge of Masons of New Hamp- 
shire. 

The Grand Master addressed the assembly as follows : — 

The teachings of Freemasonry inculcate, that in all our 
works, great and small, begun and finished, we should seek 
the aid of Almighty God. It is our first duty, then, to invoke 
the blessing of the great Architect of the Universe upon the 
work in which we are about to engage. I therefore command 
the utmost silence, and call upon all to unite with our Grand 
Chaplain in an address to the Throne of Grace. 

PRAYER BY THE GRAND CHAPLAIN. 

Almighty God ! who hath given us grace at this time, with 
one accord, to make our common supplication unto Thee, and 
dost promise that where two or three are gathered together in 
Thy name. Thou wilt grant their request ; fulfill now, O Lord ! 
the desires and petitions of Thy servants, as may be most ex- 
pedient for them ; granting us in this world, knowledge of 
Thy truth ; and in the world to come, life everlasting. Amen. 

Respo7ise. So mote it be. 

Grand Master. Right Worshipful Brother Grand Treasur- 
er, it has ever been the custom on occasions like the present, to 
deposit within a cavity in the stone, placed in the north-east cor- 
ner of the structure, certain memorials of the period at which 
it was erected ; so that in the lapse of ages, if the fury of the 
elements, or the slow but certain ravages of time should lay 
bare its foundation, an enduring record may be found by suc- 
ceeding generations, to bear testimony to the energy, industry 
and culture of our time. Has such a deposit been prepared .? 

(At this point, a box twelve inches long, eight inches wide, 
and eight inches high, made of thick plates of lead and secure- 



ARTICLES DEPOSITED. 39 

ly sealed, containing the articles to be deposited in the Corner- 
stone, was handed to the Grand Treasurer by Charles S. Bus- 
sell, Cit}' Clerk of Nashua.) 

Grand Ti-easurer. It has, Most Worshipful Grand Mas- 
ter, and the various articles of which it is composed are safely 
enclosed within the casket now before you. 

Grand Alaster. Right Worthy Grand Secretary you will 
read for the information of the brethren and others here as- 
sembled, a record of the contents of the casket. 

LIST OF ARTICLES DEPOSITED IN THE CORNER-STONE AS 
READ BY THE GRAND SECRETARY. 

1. Certified copy of Resolution No. 978, providing for the erection 

of a Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, passed January 29, 1889, 
and certified copy of Resolution No. 990, in relation to laying 
this Corner-Stone. passed May 28th, 1889. 

2. Names of 13.55 Nashua Soldiers and Sailors in the war of the 

Rebellion. 

3. Autograph signature of the President of the United States. 

4. Autograph signature of the Vice-President of the United States. 

5. Autograph signature of the Governor of New Hampshire. 

6. Deposit by John G. Foster Post, No. 7. G. A. R.. containing list of 

all the soldiers who ever belonged to the Post; Members of the 
Woman's Relief Corps; Sons and Daughters of Veterans; a 
G. A. R. badge and copy of By-Laws of the Post. 

7. Copy of City Charter and Revised Ordinances. 
6. Copy of City Report, 1888. 

9. Copy of Manual of City Officers, 1889. 

10. Copy of Manual of School Board and Teachers of 1889. 

11. Copy of Directory of City of Nashua, 1888. 

12. Copy of Nashua Weekly Gazette, May 30th, 1889. 

13. Copy of Nashua Daily Gazette, May 29th, 1889. 

U. Copy of Nashua Weekly Telegraph, May 25th, 1889. 

15. Copy of Nashua Daily Telegraph, May 29th, 1889. 

16. Programme of the exercises at laying of this Corner-Stone. 



40 ARTICLES DEPOSITED. 

17. Deposit bj the Nashua Fire Department. 

18. Deposit by St. George Commandery, Knights Templar. 

19. Depositby Granite Lodge, No. 1, I. O. O. F. 

20. Deposit by Pennichuck Lodge, No. 44, L O. O. F. 

21. Deposit by Nashoonon Encampment, I. O. O. F. 

22. Deposit by Ancient Order of Hibernians, Divisions Nos. 1 and 2. 

23. Deposit by Union St. Jean Baptiste Societj'. 

24. Deposit by Conclave T. B. Crowley, Knights of Sherwood For- 

est, A. O. F. 

25. Depositby Women's Christian Temperance Union. 

2G. Roster of J. Q^ A. Warren Camp, No. 18, Sons of Veterans. 

27. Roster of Foster Rifles, Co. I, Second Regiment, N. H. N. G. 

28. Silver and minor coins of the U. S., 1889. 

29. Copies of Manchester Daily Union, Boston Daily Journal, Her- 

ald and Globe, May 30th, 1889. 

30. Copy of the Army and Navy Journal, New York, May 4th, 

1889. 

31. Pamphlet descriptive of the Washington Centennary, celebrated 

in New York, April 29, .30 and May 1, 1889. 

Grand Master. Right Worthy Grand Treasurer, you will 
now deposit the Casket beneath the Corner-Stone, and may 
the Great Architect of the Universe, in His w^isdom, grant 
that ages on ages shall pass away ere it again be seen of men. 

(The Grand Treasurer, assisted by the Grand Secretary 
placed the casket in the cavity prepared, the Second Regiment 
bandplajnng softly during the ceremony.) 

Grand Treasurer . Most Worshipful Grand Master, your 
orders have been duly executed. 

(The principal architect here delivered the working tools to 
the Grand Master, who retained the trowel, and presented the 
square, level and plumb to the Deputy Grand Master, Senior 
and Junior Grand Wardens, respectively, and said) : — 



MASONIC CEREMONIES. 41 

Right Worshipful Brethren , you will receive the implements 
of your office. With your assistance and that of the Craft, I 
will now proceed to lay the Corner-Stone of this structure, ac- 
cording to the custom of our fraternity. 

Brother Grand Marshal, you will direct the Craftsmen to 
furnish the cement, and prepare to lower the stone. 

The Grand Master then spread the cement, and the stone 
was slowly lowered to its place, to the sound of appropriate 
music, the grand honors being given under the direction of 
the Grand Marshal. The Grand Master then said : — 

Right Worthy Deputy Grand Master, what is the proper 
implement of your office? 

Deputy Grand Master. The Square. 

Grand Master. What are its moral and Masonic uses.'* 

Deputy Grand Master. To square our actions by the rule 
of virtue, and prove our work. 

Grand Master. Apply the implement of your office to 
that portion of the Corner-Stone, and make report. 

The square is applied to the four upper corners. 

Deputy Grand Master. Most Worshipful Grand Master, 
I find the stone to be square. The Craftsmen have done their 
duty. 

Grand Master. Right Worthy Senior Grand Warden, 
what is the proper implement of your office ? 

Senior Grand Warden. The Level. 

Grand Master. What are its moral and Masonic uses? 

Senior Grand Warden. Morally, it teaches Equality ; and 
by it we prove our work. 

Grand Master. Apply the implement of your office to 
that portion of the Corner-Stone that needs to be proved, and 
make report. 



42 MASONIC CEREMONIES. 

The Level was applied to the top surface. 

Senior Grand Warden. Most Worshipful Grand Master, 
I find the stone to be level. The Craftsmen have done their 
duty. 

Grand Master. Right Worshipful Junior Grand Warden, 
what is the proper implement of your office } 

yunior Grand Warden. The Plumb. 

Grand Master. What are its moral and Masonic uses? 

Junior Grand Warden. Morally it teaches rectitude of 
conduct ; and by it we prove our work. 

Grand Master. Apply the implement of your oflSce to 
that portion of the Corner-Stone, and make report. 

The Plumb was applied to the sides of the stone. 

Junior Grand Warden. Most Worshipful Grand Master, 
I find the stone to be plumb. The Crafstmen have done their 
duty. 

The Grand Master then struck the stone three times with his 
gavel and said : — 

This Corner-Stone has been tested by the proper implements 
of Masonry. I find that the Craftsmen have skillfully and 
faithfully done their duty ; and I do declare the stone to be 
well formed and trusty, truly laid, and correctly proved accord- 
ing to the rules of our Ancient Craft. Ma}' the structure be 
conducted and completed amid the blessings of Plenty, Health 
and Peace. 

Response by the Craft. So mote it be. 

Grand Master. Brother Grand Marshal, you will present 
the elements of consecration to the proper officers. 



MASONIC CEREMONIES. 43 

Grand Marshal presented Vessel of Corn to the D. G. M. ; 
the Wine to the S. G. W. ; and the Oil to the J. G. W. 

Deputy Grand Master advanced with the Corn, scattered it 
on the stone, and said, 

I scatter this Corn as an emblem of Plenty ; may the bless- 
ings of bounteous Heaven be showered upon us, and upon all 
like patriotic and important undertakings, and inspire the 
hearts of the people with virtue, wisdom and gratitude. 

Response by tJie Craft. So mote it be. 

Senior Grand Warden advanced with the Vessel of Wine, 
poured it on the stone, and said : — 

I pour this Wine as an emblem of Joy and Gladness. May 
the Great Ruler of the Universe bless and prosper our Nation- 
al, State and City Governments ; preserve the union of the States 
in harmony and brotherly love, which shall endure through all 
time. 

Response by the Craft. So mote it be. 

Junior Grand Warden advanced with Vessel of Oil, poured 

it on the stone and said : — 

I pour this Oil as an emblem of Peace ; may its blessings 
abide with us continually ; and may the Grand Master of Heav- 
en and Earth shelter and protect the widow and orphan, and 
vouchsafe to tliem, and to the bereaved, the afflicted and sorrow- 
ing, everywhere, the enjoyment of ever)'^ good and perfect 
gift. 

Response by the Craft. So mote it be. 

Grand Master extended his hands, and pronounced the fol- 
lowing; invocation : — 



44 MASONIC CEREMONIES. 

May Corn, Wine and Oil, and all the necessaries of life 
abound among men throughout the world. May the blessing 
of Almighty God be upon this undertaking. May he protect 
the workmen from every accident. May the monument here to 
be erected, be planned with wisdom, supported by strength, 
and adorned in beauty, and may it be preserved to the latest 
ages, a fitting tribute to the brave defenders of our country 
and a lasting monument to the liberality of our citizens. 

Response by the Craft. So mote it be. 

Grand Master addressed the Principal Architect and said : — 

Worthy sir, having thus, as Grand Master of Masons, laid 
the Corner-Stone of this Monument, I now return to you these 
implements of operative Masonry, having full confidence in 
your skill and capacitv to perform the important duties confid- 
ed to you, to the satisfaction of those who have entrusted you 
with their fulfilment. 

The Grand Master then made report of his doings as fol- 
lows : — 

I have the honor to report, that in compliance with the re- 
quest of the proper authorities, the Corner-Stone of the Mon- 
ument to be erected on this site, has been laid successfully, 
with the ancient ceremonies of the Craft. The Brother Grand 
Marshal will therefore make the proclamation. 

Grand Marshal. In the name of the Most Worshipful 
Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of 
New Hampshire, I now proclaim that the Corner-Stone of the 
Monument to be erected, has this day been found true and 
trusty., and laid according to the old customs, by the Grand 
Master of Masons. 



THE ORATION. 45 

8. Oration bj Colonel Frank G. Nojes, of Nashua. 

Mayor Burke then introduced the Orator of the Day, as 
follows : — 

Ladies and Gentlemen : — 

By invitation of the City Councils, one of our distinis^uished 
fellow citizens will now address you. This gentleman is too 
well-known to Nashua people to require any introduction. I 
therefore present to you Colonel Frank G. Noyes. 

THE ORATION. 

Mr. Mayor and Fellow Citizens: — 

At the height of the grandeur and glory of Ancient Rome, 
it was said of her citizens that to be a Roman was greater than 
a king. We Americans are here to-day with a prouder title 
than could be justly assumed by any dweller in that Roman 
city, that "sat upon her seven hills and from her throne of 
beauty ruled the world." We are here as citizens of the Re- 
public of free and independent United States of America. 
We are here in the name of Liberty and Union to perform a 
sacred ceremony. In the name of Liberty ! that finds its 
springs and sources deep in the hearts of men. With all its 
beauty, with all its mistakes, its faith and inspiration, it belongs 
to no nation, no creed, no race. It is the heritage of man. — In 
the name of Union ! that was founded by the Fathers of the Re- 
public, and cemented by the blood of our fathers and brothers. 
It has received its " baptism of fire" ; we have tested it in the 
crucible of civil war, and by the aid of those over whose 
mouldering bones, their surviving comrades have this day 
strewn the sweet flowers of spring, we have illustrated its 
deathless existence. 



46 THE ORATION. 



THE CORNER-STONE. 



We are here to lay the Corner-Stone of a memorial structure 
to be erected by this city, as a tribute of honor to the men of 
Nashua who served their country on land or sea during the 
war of the rebellion, and aided in preserving the integrity of 
the Federal Union. While we engage in this solemn duty, we 
have here with us participating in these obligations, represen- 
tatives of the battle-scarred heroes of the Grand Army of the 
Republic, as well as many other equally worthy veterans who 
survived the conflict, all of whom we delight to honor. To 
perform this grateful ceremony, we have invoked to our assist- 
ance an Ancient and Honorable Order, founded on the Chris- 
tian religion ; whose tenets inculcate loyalty to country ; that 
claims an antiquity more remote than the dawn of the Christian 
era, and one of whose distinguished masters was the peerless 
Washington. 



THE MONUMENT. 



For the people of our day and generation, the deeds of the 
heroes in whose honor this structure is to be raised, need no 
illustration by tongue or pen, or pile of stone or bronze. They 
are imperishable and inshrined in the hearts of their country- 
men. But to create and bequeath to the youth of future 
generations, a memorial of the sublime virtues of loyalty and 
patriotism, is a deed worthy of the intelligence of the most 
advanced civilization. To you, therefore, gentlemen of the 
City Councils, by whose wisdom this memorial structure is to 
be erected by the people of Nashua, in their name and behalf, 
I ofter you thanks. In the name of the heroic dead whose 
faith and achievements you commemorate, I offer you thanks. 
In the name of their surviving comrades. I offer you thanks. 



THE ORATION. 47 

In the name of the youth of the present, and of future genera- 
tions, I offer you thanks. 

THE DEPOSIT. 

We here deposit in this Corner-Stone, memorials of our day 
and age. In thus entonibing these treasures, we consign to a 
long and silent repose, mementoes of ourselves that shall again 
behold the light, only when we, perchance, have been long for- 
gotten ; when perhai^s our names would have passed into obli- 
vion, and our existence have become a tradition, save onlv for 
the stately shaft tliat shall be erected on these foundations, to 
perpetuate the memory of those who offered their lives upon 
the altar of their country, and to be a constant, though silent re- 
minder of their patriotism, heroism and devotion. 

THE OCCASION. 

During the brief time I shall address you to-dav, I purpose 
to swerve from the somewhiat beaten track that has usually 
been trodden by orators on similar occasions for the last quar- 
ter of a century. Those of you who are of matm"e age well 
remember, and the youth before me have heard by word of 
inotith or perusal of faithful histories, the thrilling incidents 
that occurred throughout the North, following the attack upon 
our Countr3''s flag in '61. When the tocsin was sounded! 
When the toilers at the loom, the forge, and the anvil dropped 
their machines with the speed still on ! when the farmer left 
his plough in the furrow ! when the workmen in God's vine- 
yard, whether from the presses of the shop, the counter, the 
office, the bench, or the pulpit, all laid down their implements 
of peaceful avocations, and girding on an unwonted armor, 
bade farewell to home and friends amid tears and prayers, and 
marched to defend the honor of the Republic ! Well might 



48 THE ORATION. 

you here listen to a recital of some reminiscences of that terri- 
ble period. Because we here stand on almost hallowed ground. 
Here about us I behold many reminders of those dark days of 
danger and doubt. Here I see on this platform a citizen of 
Nashua, esteemed in his advancing years as he was honored in 
his earlier manhood, who as Chief Magistrate i of the city, re- 
ceived the battered veterans of the war, as they returned victo- 
rious after Appomatox, and welcomed them home upon this 
very spot. But should we not endeavor to draw lessons of 
wisdom on this occasion, rather than indulge in reminiscences 
of the war ? 

The occasion is not and should not be one of unmixed grief. 
Its ceremonies furnish us with sources of pleasure as well as 
sad reflection. It is an appropriate time to examine our pro- 
gress as a nation, to consider our present condition and the in- 
fluence of our example, to extend our sympathies to other peo- 
ple engaged in the same struggle in which we have conquered, 
and above all to rekindle upon the altar of a common patriot- 
ism, such torches as have been quenched or grown dim amid 
party contests or attempted civil disunion. 

THE SAFETY OF THE REPUBLIC. 

The safety of our Republic is assured by the exercise of two 
inalienable rights ; first, the free exercise of public opinion 
upon the public acts of the party in power ; and second, co-equal 
with this public opinion, and its voice, the ballot box, that 

"Weapon that comes down as still 

As snow-flakes fall upon the sod; 
But executes the freeman's will, 

As lightning does the will of God." 2 

It is somewhat popular in these days of assumed modern 
political degeneracy, to smile at a suggestion of the purity of 

I. Ex-Mayor V. C. Oilman. 
a. John Pierpont. 



THE ORATION. 49 

our ballot box system. Subtle schemers and smooth 
tongued frauds, and sometimes men who " steal the livery of 
the Court of Heaven to serve the devil in," i use their hellish 
devices to corrupt and pollute the fountains whence flow the 
pure waters of freedom ; but as intelligence shall become dif- 
fused throughout the land, the masses of those men who now 
lie under the thick clouds and dead calm of ignorance, super- 
stition and vice, will surge like the angry ocean, and the reign 
of terror to all such corruptionists, will be the history of the 
nation ! 

THE STRENGTH OF THE REPUBLIC. 

The great strength of our Republic lies in the innate love of 
freedom and (if country implanted in our people ; the love of jus- 
tice and fair play ; the calm, sober second thought of our men 
and women, and such conditions of soil and climate as render 
the genius of our institutions capable of producing in cases of 
emergency, such men as Washington, Jefferson, Jackson and 
Lincoln. And above all, it is that ardent patriotism that rises 
above self. It is that electric fire of treedom which to-dav is 
shaking the very foundations of kingdoms and empires. The 
handwriting is on the wall ! What to-day do you plainly be- 
hold among the monarchies of the old world .-^ "Change, 
change, change," written on everything ; mysterious vials of 
wrath momentarily threatening to pour ; the awful horseman of 
the Apocalypse crying out from the clouds, — '• Behold I make 
all things new." 2 Ever}' sceptre trembling in a palsied grasp ; 
every crown fretted with sleeplessness and thorns ; arms in the 
hands of soldiers sprung from the people, and who cannot be 
trusted to turn against them ; secret societies filling the air with 

1. Pollock's Course of Time. 

2. The Revelation of St. John. 



50 THE ORATION. 

missiles of destruction from invisible hands, and Poland, Hun- 
gary and Ireland preparing for the inevitable hour, when a 
deadlier blast than Roland blew from his enchanted horn, shall 
summon them to take their places as free, sovereign and inde- 
pendent Commonwealths, around the standard of reconstructed 
Europe ! 

THE UNITY OF THE PEOPLE. 

The great heart of our people, my fellow-citizens, has al- 
ways throbbed with love of country ; the rank and file what- 
ever may be their party affiliations are all patriots. The issues 
of the war of the rebellion, settled forever the question of uni- 
versal freedom in our country. Those of our brethren in the 
Southern States who rebelled, were arrayed against the Union 
in support of an ignis fatuns that lured them on almost to 
their destruction. But the masses in the South to-day, are as 
loyal to the Union as any of us here. The Boys in Blue and 
the Boys in Gray march under one flag now, the stars and the 
stripes of the Federal Union. The line reaches the length and 
breadth of the land, and it cannot be broken. 

And so to-day our people are free, independent, prosperous 
and happy citizens of the grandest Republic the world has ever 
known ; a Nation with such resources and so united and pow- 
erful, that it might successfully withstand the world in arms. 
Let us therefore beware of the dangers that threaten us ; be- 
ware of the allurements of luxury ; beware of the concentra- 
tion of wealth by means of gigantic trusts, combinations and 
other devices which menace the liberties of the people ; of the 
tendency to centralization of power by which all the Republics 
in the past have been overthrown ; resist every encroachment 
on the autonomy of the States, and yield no iota of their 
vested rights. Thus may the Republic endure forever ! 



THE ORATION. 51 

THE FUTURE OF THE REPUBLIC. 

We have briefly considered the present ; let us now look to 
the future : — Within the next century I behold my countrymen 
numbering- three hundred millions of freemen ! I see the 
whole continent under her starry flag ! I see her the center of 
civilization ! l^hrones have tottered and crumbled, and dynas- 
ties have been swept away ! T see her at the zenith, full orbed, 
'•' glittering like the morning star, full of life, and splendor, 
and joy." ' 

9. Benediction by the Grand Chaplain of the Grand Lodge of Ma- 
sons, as follows : — 

Glorv be to God on High, and on earth, peace, good will 
toward men ! O Lord, we most heartily beseech Thee with 
Thy favor to behold and bless this assemblage ; pour down 
Thy mercies, like the dew that falls upon the mountains, upon 
Thy servants engaged in the solemn ceremonies of this day. 
Bless, we pray Thee, all the workmen who shall be engaged 
in the erection of this monument ; keep them from all forms of 
accident and harm ; grant them in health and prosperity to 
live ; and finally, we hope after this life, through Thy mercy 
and forgiveness to attain everlasting joy and felicity in Thy 
bright mansion, in Thy holy temple, not made with hands, 
eternal in the heavens. Amen. 

Response. So mote it be. 

At the close of the exercises at Abbot .Square, the column 
moved down Main vStreet, by the City Hall Building, where it 
was reviewed by the Mayor and City Government, thence coun- 
termarched to the starting point, where the parade was dis- 
missed. 



1. Edmund Burke. 



SECOND REPORT i BUILDING COMMITTEE. 



REPORT OF THE BUILDING COMMITTEE. 



Nashua, N. H., Sept. 17, 1889. 
To THE City Councils : — 

Gentlemen : — Your Committee appointed under the provi- 
sions of joint resolution Number 978, entitled: — "A Resolu- 
tion for the erection of a Soldiers' Monument, and appropria- 
tion not exceeding twelve thousand dollars," passed January 
29th, 1889, begs leave respectfully to again report progress and 
state, 

First: — That the contractors for building the Monument 
have given this Committee formal notice that the same will be 
finished and ready for dedication on the 15th day of October, 
next. 

Second : — That this Committee is, therefore, makino- ar- 
rangements to have the Monument dedicated with approprinte 
ceremonies on said 15th of October. 

Third : — That the Commander of the Grand Army of the 
Republic for the Department of New Hampshire, has hecn 
invited and has accepted the invitation to perform the ceremonv 
of dedication, assisted by the comrades of the order. 

Fourth : — That the Hon. Charles H. Burns, of Wilton, has 
been invited and has accepted the invitation to deliver an ora- 
tion on the occasion. 

Fifth : — That your Committee did not feel authorized nor 
warranted to trespass on the rights and dignity of your honor- 
able bodies so far as to ask or appoint any member of the City 



o6 REPORT OF BUILDING COMMITTEE. 

Councils to serve on any of the Committees to attend to the 
details of arranging for the dedication of the Monument, but 
your Committee begs respectfully to suggest that your honor- 
able bodies take such action as may seem advisable, to act as a 
General Committee of Reception to the guests of the City on 
that occasion. 

Your Committee further begs respectfully to suggest that 
your honorable bodies take such action as you may deem prop- 
er, to be present otficially on the occasion of the dedication of 
the Monument, on Abbot Square, at the time stated above. 

Your Committee begs respectfully to request that your hon- 
orable bodies will ratify the action of your Committee in the 
premises, by accepting this report. 

Respectfully submitted, 
Charles H. Burke, 

Mayor and Chairman, 
John D. Sullivan, 
A. W. Heald, 
H. P. Wardwell, 

J. H. MORAN, 

Charles W. Stevens, 
Frank G. Noyes, 
R. B. Prescott, 

Secretary, 
Received Sept. 30, 1889. 

Read and accepted in Board of Aldermen, Oct. 1st, 1889. 
Charles H. Burke, Mayor. 
Charles S. Bussell, City Clerk. 
Read and accepted in Board of Common Council, Oct. 1st, 
1889. 

Henry P. Whitney, President, 

George E. Danforth, Clerk. 



Building Committee 

\ of the 

Soldiers' Monument. 



ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE DEDICATION. 



ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE DEDICATION. 



As soon as the Building Committee were assured by the 
contractors that the Monument would be finished and ready 
for dedication within the time specified in the contract, prepa- 
rations were begun and arrangements made for a ceremony and 
pageant that should be worthy of the object, and the fifteenth 
of October, 1889, was set as the day on which to dedicate the 
Monument. 

The Committee invited the following named persons to take 
part in the dedicatory sei'vices : — 

The Commander of the Grand Array of the Republic for 
the Department of New Hampshire, assisted by his staft' and 
comrades of the order, to dedicate the Monument. 

Hon. Charles H. Burns of Wilton, to deliver the oration. 

Rev. Geo. W. Grover to act as chaplain. 

Colonel Frank G. Noyes in behalf of the Building Com- 
mittee, to formally deliver the Monument to the City, 

Col. E. J. Copp to act as Chief Marshal. 

These invitations were severall}' accepted. 

Invitations to participate in the ceremonies were forwarded 
to every Grand Army Post in New Hampshire, and to several 
Posts in adjoining States. A circular was published in all the 
newspapers in the State, extending to all soldiers and sailors 
who were either born in, or were credited to, or now reside in 
New Hampshire, who have sei"ved in the army or navy of the 



60 ARRANGEMENTS FOR DEDICA TION 

United States, a cordial invitation to be present and take part 
on the occasion of unveiling and dedicating the Monument. 

A general committee of arrangements was appointed, con- 
sisting of the following named citizens : — 

Mayor Charles H. Burke, Chairman, 

Hon. Frank A. McKean, 

Hon. James H. Tolles, 

Gen. Ira Cross, 

W. D. Cadwell, Esq., 

Col. E. J. Copp, 

Dr. A. W. Petit, 

Col. Frank G. Noyes, 

Alvin S. Eaton, Esq., 

Charles W. Stevens, Esq., 

Patrick Lonergan, Esq., 

Dr. R. B. Prescott, Secretary. 
There were also appointed sub-committees on invitation, on 
entertainment, on transportation, on order of exercises and 
printing, on decorations, on music, on carriages, and a large 
reception committee consisting of ex-mayors and other prom- 
inent citizens. 

The members of both branches of the City Government 
also acted as a special committee on I'eception. 

All the committees, comprising more than an hundred citi- 
zens labored earnestly, industriously and in entire harmony 
throughout the whole affair, and with the sole object of making 
the occasion a grand success, a credit and an honor to the city. 
The following General Orders were issued by the Chief 
Marshal : — 



GENERAL ORDERS. 61 

Dedication of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument. 
Office of Chief Marshal. 

Nashua, N. H., Sept. 25, 1889. 
Orders No. 1. 

I. Having been appointed Chief Marshal of the exercises 
at the dedication of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument at 
Nashua, October 15th next, the undersigned hereby assumes 
the duties of the office. 

The following appointments are hereby announced : — 

Dr. R. B. Prescott, Chief of Staff. 
Col. DanaW. King, Assistant Marshal and Chief of Division. 
H. A. Marsh, Assistant Marshal and Chief of Division. 
C. W. Stevens, Assistant Marshal and Chief of Division. 
M. A. Taylor, Assistant Marshal and Chief of Division. 

AIDS. 

Col. R. P. Staniels of Concord, Col. J. J. Dillon of Manchester, 

Col. John B. Hall of Manchester, Col. F. E. Kaley of Milford, 

Col. W. E. Spalding of Nashua. Capt. G. E. Heath of Nashua, 

Maj. W. H. Cheever of Nashua, Capt. M.L.Morrison, Peterboro', 
Capt. W. W.Hemmenway, Milford, Dr. G. F. Wilbur of Nashua, 

Adjt. C. E. Faxon of Nashua, J. H. Dunlap of Nashua, 

Capt. F. L. Kimball of Nashua, Capt. C. E. Nelson of Derbj' Line, 

Capt. D. B. Newhall of Concord, W. A. Gregg of Nashua, 

Loren S. Richardson of Concord, C. H. Moore of Nashua, 

J. A. Dadman of Concord, John H. Vickery of Nashua, 

G. F. Hammond of Nashua, P. Lonergan of Nashua, 

F. E. Marsh of Nashua, Darius Whithed of Lowell, 

L. P. A. Lavoie of Nashua, John Welch of Lowell, 

Col. J. W. Crosby of Milford, Daniel Walker of Lowell, 

B. S. Woods of Nashua, D. W. Hayden of HoUis. 

II. Chiefs of Division and Aids w^ill report at 9 o'clock, 
A. M., Oct. 15, at the Office of Chief Marshal, County Building. 

III. John G. Foster Post, G. A. R., will report to the 
Chief Marshal for special escort dut}-^ at 10 o'clock, A. m. 

Companies I. and C, Second Regiment, N. H. N. G., 
having volunteered their services for the day, unless otherwise 
ordered, will report to the Chief Marshal for special escort 
duty at 10 o'clock, a. m. 

IV. All visiting organizations will report upon arrival to 
the Assistant Marshal or Aid in waiting at each station. 

V. Dinner will he sei'ved at 12 o'clock on North Common 
to the Military, to the visiting organizations of the G. A. R., 



62 GENERAL ORDERS. 

and to all Soldiers and Sailors of the war who may favor us 
with their presence. 

VI. Lines will be formed at 1 :30 p. m. by Divisions under 
direction of Chiefs of Division as follows : — 

First Division upon the westerly side of Main street, with 
the right resting upon Factory street. 

Second Division upon Temple street, with the right resting 
upon Main street. 

Third Division upon East Pearl street, with the right resting 
upon Main street. 

Fourth Division upon Main street, with the right resting 
upon Hollis street. 

The line of March will be as follows : Main street to Bel- 
mont street, countermarch through Main to Concord street. 
Concord street to Courtland, countermarch Courtland to Cres- 
cent, Crescent to Abbot, Abbot to Abbot Square. 

VII. The formation of Divisions and assignment of com- 
mand, with other details, will be announced in future orders. 

VIII. All organizations intending to participate, that have 
not already reported, are urgently requested to communicate 
with the Chief Marshal without delay. The co-operation of 
all Soldiers and prompt compliance with orders is absolutely 
necessarv to the success of the ceremonies. 

E. J. Copp, Chief Marshal. 



Dedication of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument. 
Office of Chief Marshal, 

Nashua, N. H., Oct. 10, 1889. 

Orders No. 2. 

I. So much of paragraph No. VI of Orders No. 1 from 
these headquarters as relates to the time of formation of line is 
hereby revoked. Lines will be formed by Divisions under the 
direction of Chiefs of Divisions at 1 o'clock p. m., Oct. 15th. 

First Division upon westerly side of Main street, with the 
right resting at Factory street. 

Second Division upon Temple street, with the right upon 
Main street. 

Third Division upon East Pearl street, with the right upon 
Main street. 

Fourth Division upon Main street, with the right upon Hol- 
lis street. 



GENERAL ORDERS. 63 

II. The column will move at 1 :30 o'clock in the order 
named below, through Main street to Belmont street, counter- 
march through Main to Concord street, Concord sti-eet to Court- 
land street, Courtland street to Webster street, Webster street 
to Hall street. Hall to Concord, Concord to Crescent, Crescent 
to Abbot, Abbot to Abbot Square. 

******** 
(The Column or line of Procession which follows here in 
the General Order, is given hereinafter beginning on page 83.) 

All organizations not having yet reported will be assigned 
to position in line in the order in which they report. 

Col. D. W. King will establish headquarters upon the Oval, 
Railroad Square, to whom all Veterans unattached to organiz- 
ations, will report at or before 11 o'clock A. M. and will be or- 
ganized by him into a Veterans' Division. 

All organizations arriving early in the day will reassemble 
upon the ground upon which they break ranks, at 11 o'clock 
preparatory to marching to the North Common for dinner. 
To obtain admittance to the dining tent, it will be necessary for 
Soldiers and Veterans to appear with their organizations under 
the command of Col. King, as above directed. 

Immediately following dinner. Post Commanders will con- 
duct their commands to the point of Division formation, report- 
ing to the Chief of the Division to which they are assigned. 

VI. Capt. S. S. Piper, commanding First Light Battery, 
N. H. N. G., is charged with the firing of the National Salute 
of 42 guns upon the unveiling of the Monument. For this 
purpose he will place his battery in position on North Com- 
mon, and upon orders transmitted by the Signal Corps will 
fire the salute. 

VII. Upon the termination of the ceremonies, commanders 
of visiting organizations will reform their lines and march to 
the depot for embarkation. The Chief Marshal in command 
suggests that every man in line appear with sufficient under- 
clothing to make the wearing of an overcoat unnecessary. 

It is confidently expected that every man participating in the 
ceremonies of the dav will place himself under reasonable dis- 
cipline, obeving all orders promptlv. Everv soldier knows 
this to be necessary to success. 

Bv order of 

E. J. Copp, Chief Marshal. 
Official, 

R. B. Prescott. Chief of Staff'. 



64 GENERAL ORDERS. 

The following General Orders were issued from Grand Army 
headquarters : — 



Headquarters Department of New Hampshire, 
Grand Army of the Republic. 

Concord, Aug. 6, 1889. 

General Orders, ) 

No. 6. \ 



IV. The Department officers have accepted an invitation 
extended by the city of Nashua, N. H., to dedicate a Soldiers' 
and Sailors' Monument in that city, October 15, 1889. and a 
cordial invitation is extended to all of the Posts in this Depart- 
ment to be present and participate in the ceremonies. Post 
Commanders are requested to bring this subject before their re- 
spective Posts for their action, at the first meeting of their Posts 
after receiving this order, and will notify (by letter) Col. E. J. 
Copp, Chief Marshal, of their acceptance and the probable 
number of comrades that will be present. They will also re- 
port to Col. Copp upon their arrival in Nashua on the da}- 
specified, for assignment to position in column. 

V. The Commander of John G. Foster Post, No. 7, will 
detail one comrade to act as Officer of the Day, one comrade 
to act as Officer of the Guard, and six comrades (three sol- 
diers and three sailors) to act as Guard of Honor, and report 
their names to the Assistant Adjutant General immediately. 

VI. The Department Commander is assured that the vari- 
ous railroads in the state will issue round trip tickets at the 
lowest possible rates, which will soon be published ; and it is 
hoped that the comrades will avail themselves of this opportu- 
nity, turn out out with full ranks, and pay honor to the memo- 
ry of the heroic dead. 

VII. If the date of the dedication of the monument should 
be changed, due notice will be given. 

By command of 

J. F. Grimes, Department Commander. 
James Minot, Assistant Adjutant-General. 



GENERAL ORDERS. 65 

Headquarters Department of New Hampshire, 
Grand Army of the Republic. 

Concord, Sept. 23, 1889. 

General Orders, ) 

No. 9. I 

I. Post Commanders are reminded that the time fixed — 
October 15th — for the dedication of the Soldiers' and Sailors' 
Monument at the cit}^ of Nashua, N. H., is near at hand, and 
as they are to be the guests of the city upon that occasion, it is 
very essential that they report their acceptance or non-accept- 
ance of the invitation, with the probable number that will be 
present, by letter, as directed by Section IV of General Orders 
No. 6 from these Headquarters, in order that the city may 
know the number for which to provide entertainment. Posts 
that have not so reported will do so at once. 

II. A collation will be served to the comrades as near 12 
o'clock m. as possible and the dedicatory exercises will com- 
mence about 2 o'clock p. m., and close in season to allow the 
comrades to return to their homes, that night, if they desire. 

III. The Concord, Cheshire. Boston & Maine, Old Col- 
ony, and Fitchburg Railroads, and leased lines, have agreed to 
carry passengers at 1 1-2 cents per mile, and in no case shall 
the fare exceed three dollars for the round trip w^hatever the 
distance may be. 

Tickets will be on sale at all the principal stations, and good 
going to Nashua on the 14th and 15th and returning on the 
15th and 16th days of October. 

IV. All the Stafi' Officers are cordially invited to be present 
at the dedication and will notify the Assistant Adjutant Gener- 
al of their acceptance by letter without delay. 

V. The following named officers are directed to report to 
the Department Commander at Nashua, N. H., as early as 
practicable on the day of the dedication and take the respec- 
tive parts assigned them in the dedicatory exercises : — 

Thomas Cogswell, Senior Vice Dep't Commander. 

George E. Hodgdon, Junior Vice Dep't Commander. 

James K. Ewer, Chaplain. 

James Minot, Assistant Adjutant-General. 

VI. Comrades G. F. Bailey and J. L. Burgess, of Post No. 
7, G. A. R., are hereby detailed as Officer of the Day and Offi- 
cer of the Guard, respectively, and will report to the Assistant 



66 GENERAL ORDERS. 

Adjutant-General for duty at 1 o'clock p. m. on the day of the 
dedication. 

By commarrd of 

J. F. Grimes, Department Commander. 

James Minot, Assistant Adjutant-General. 






JMSm^..JiaP^' 



i 




nrr'"»wif>'if*t 



THE MONUMENT. 



THE MONUMENT. 



The Monument is an imposing structm-e, and as a creation 
of memorial art, for beauty of design and appropriate expres- 
sion to commemorate the deeds of the men whose memories it 
is intended to perpetuate, has seldom been equalled. 

The Monument is located near the south east corner of Ab- 
bot Square, at the head of Main street, and far to the south, 
beyond the City Hall Building, the view is unobstructed. 

It is built of granite and is as solid and should endure as the 
very hills themselves. The foundation is of solid masonry 
eleven feet below the surface of the earth. The base is fifteen 
feet and six inches square and the Monument is fifty-two feet 
and eight inches in height, with castellated shaft. The main 
die is hammered and the blocks forming the column alter- 
nate hammered and rough ashler, the contrast being perfect. 
The inscription on the bronze tablet on the South face of the 
die is : — 

A TRIBUTE 

TO THE MEN OF NASHUA 

WHO SERVED THEIR COUNTRY 

ON LAND OR SEA 

DURING THE WAR OF THE REBELLION, 

AND AIDED IN 

PRESERVING THE INTEGRITY 

OP THE 

FEDERAL UNION 

A. D. 1861-1865. 



ERECTED BY THE CITY OF NASHUA 
A. D. 1889. 



70 THE MONUMENT. 

On this side of the die, above the inscription, in bronze and 
tastefully grouped, are the emblems of the cavali'y arm of the 
service. The group consists of a saddle, thrown carelessly 
against a stone wall, upon which is a hat and blanket ; 
upon the side and below are the canteen, sword, rifle, 
straps, pistol and other trappings, with a bugle lying upon the 
ground at the left. 

The tablet on the North face of the die is given to appropri- 
ate quotations, as follows : — 

'' the union ought to be considered as a main prop 
of your liberties, and the love of the one ought to 

endear to you the preservation of the other." 

[Washington's farewell address. 



"OUR FEDERAL UNION; IT MUST BE PRESERVED." [AN- 
DREW JACKSON. 



"LIBERTY AND UNION, NOW AND FOREVER, ONE AND IN- 
SEPARABLE." [DANIEL WEBSTER. 



*•' THAT FROM THESE HONORED DEAD WE TAKE INCREASED 
DEVOTION TO THAT CAUSE FOR WHICH THEY GAVE THE 
LAST FULL MEASURE OF DEVOTION ; THAT WE HERE HIGH- 
LY RESOLVE THAT THESE DEAD SHALL NOT HAVE DIED IN 
VAIN AND THAT GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE 
PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE, SHALL NOT PERISH FROM THE 
EARTH. [ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 



"LET US HAVE PEACE." [u. S. GRANT. 

The bronze emblem above the inscriptions on this side of 
the die consists of a group of three cannon, with an artillery 
wheel below and two rammers perpendicular. 



THE MONUMENT. 71 

The bas-relief, in bronze, upon the East face of the die, rep- 
resents the sinking of the Alabama by the Kearsarge, June 
19, 1864, off the coast of France. The Alabama is engulfed, 
sinking in the sea, while the victorious Kearsarge is seen in the 
background, on even keel, seemingly uninjured by the fight. 
Above, on the top of the die, stands a bold and defiant sailor 
in bronze, 7 feet 2 inches in height. His right arm is extended 
above his head ; his right hand grasps a cutlass, his left hand 
holding a rope, a coil of v^hich lays at his feet. The idea con- 
veyed is that he is about to board an enemy's ship. The band 
upon his hat is inscribed "Kearsarge." The appropriateness 
of this tablet and figure is found in the fact that the victorious 
war ship bore the name of a New Hampshire mountain and is 
therefore identified with this State. It is also found in the fact 
that the last male descendant of Matthew Thornton, the signer 
of the Declai-ation of Independence, Capt. James S. Thornton 
whose body lies buried at Thornton's Ferry, was the executive 
oflficer of the Kearsarge in the memorable engagement, and di- 
rected the guns that brought victor}- and lienor to his country. 

The bas-relief upon the West face of the die is allegorical 
and of special significance. The capitol of the nation appears 
upon the right background and a ruined Southern dwelling 
house upon the left, in front of which stands a stack of mus- 
kets, resting upon which is a furled rebel flag. The Goddess 
of Liberty, with broken chains at her feet and with out- 
stretched hands, stands in the center ; before her in kneeling 
attitude is a colored man over whose head a Federal and Con- 
federate soldier have clasped hands in the bonds of peace, 
while a ribbon border across the top and bottom bears the in- 
scription : " With malice toward none ; with charitv for all." 
Upon the top of this side of the die stands a spirited figure, in 
bronze, of an infantryman in the act of raising and cocking his 



72 THE MONUMENT. 

rifle. The figure, upon which is a haversack, cartridge- 
box and canteen, leans forward ; the gaze is intently fixed on a 
far away object, while every nerve is strained to the utmost 
tension. The thought of the beholder instantly grasps the idea 
that the soldier is represented, either as a skirmisher, or on a 
lonely picket line, and that an important movement of the ene- 
my is being watched with absorbing interest. We doubt if 
the figures of the soldier and sailor of this Monument are 
equalled by any in this country. Equalled or excelled, they 
are perfect works of art and a credit to artist and committee. 

On the four sides of the capstone of the shaft, there 
are four bronze shields ; the one upon the South face is a copy 
of the seal of the State ; that upon the North, a copy of the seal 
of the City, and those upon the East and West are copies of 
the United States shield. The stone is ornamented with col- 
umns at the corners and with raised stars at the top. 

Standing upon a pedestal of proper proportions and crown- 
ing the whole, is a statue representing Victory. It is nine feet 
high and carved from New Hampshire Granite. Its symmetr}' 
is perfect. The features are beautiful ; firm, yet benign ; the 
drapery flowing and graceful in folds ; the ellcct perfect in art. 
The right hand rests upon the symbolic shield of the country, 
and the extended left holds a laurel wreath in bronze. 

This Monument has been erected to commemorate the pa- 
triotism and valor of the thirteen hundred and fifty- five men of 
Nashua, who served their Country as Soldiers or Sailors dur- 
ing the War of the Rebellion, whose names are deposited in 
the Corner-Stone It is a worthy and appropriate tribute to 
the living and dead of the army and navy of the Union, and 
when it shall have been improved by adding statues of a cav- 
alryman and artilleryman in bronze, in place of the embleniS 
now upon the Noith and South faces of the second die, there 



THE MONUMENT. 73 

will be no Monument in our country — at whatever cost — that 
will more appropriately mark the greatest epoch liberty has 
ever known. 

Note. — The design and general plan of the Monument was made by 
Mr. T. M. Perry, Architect for Messrs. Frederick & Field of Quincy, 
Mass. The model of the Sailor was made by S. J. O'Kelly, sculptor, 
of Boston, and was cast by M. H. Mosman, of Chicopee, Mass. The 
model of the Skirmisher (the soldier) was made by C. Buberl, of New 
York, and was cast by the Henry Bonnard Bronze Co., of New York. 
The model of the Artillery emblem was made and the same was cast by 
M. H. Mosman, of Chicopee, Mass., who also furnished the model of the 
Emancipation bas-relief and the two lettered panels, and cast the same. 
The model of the Cavalry emblem, the bas-relief of the sinking of the 
Alabama, City Seals and U. S. shields, and the surmounting Statue of 
Victory were modelled by Beattie & Brooks, sculptors, Quincy, Mass. 
The Cavalry emblem and Naval bas-relief were cast by Henry Bonnard 
Bronze Co.. of N. Y. The City Seals and U. S. Shields were cast by M. H . 
Mosman, of Chicopee, Mass. The surmounting figure of Victory, carved 
from a block of Concord, N. H., granite, was executed in the works of 
Messrs. Frederick & Field, by their own sculptors. All the granite 
work of the Monument was executed in the works of the contractors 
and builders, Messrs. Frederick & Field, of Quincy, Mass., who erected 
the Monument. The foundation of the Monument — which is eleven 
feet deep, and fifteen feet and six inches square at the top, and flares reg- 
ularly to the bottom, where it is eighteen feet square — is built from 
granite raised from the Nashua quarry, and was laid by Charles W. 
Stevens, of Nashua, under the direction of Frederick & Field. The 
dedicatory inscription on the bronze tablet inserted in the south or 
front face of the die of the Monument, and the quotations from emi- 
nent Americans, on the bronze tablet inserted in the north face of the 
same, were prepared by Col. Frank G. Noyes, of Nashua. 



THE DAY. 



THE DAY. 



The fifteenth day of October, 1889. 

It was a perfect autumn day, bright and beautiful. The 
air was cool and bracing. It was the day to which the peo- 
ple of Nashua had looked forward for nearly a quarter of a 
century ; the day on which a Monument was to be dedicated 
to the memory of sons and brothers, of husbands and fathers, 
who, in the pride and strength of their manhood, went 
forth to battle for the integrity of the nation as a federal 
union ; which should set the bondman free and preserve 
the liberties of the people. The citv was decked in its 
finest raiment. Public and private buildings were elaborately 
decorated with flags and banners and bunting, and hundreds of 
beautiful and ingenious devices, which testified to the patriotic 
feeling and general interest which the public had in the grand 
event. It was surely Veterans' day. The factories closed, 
business suspended, the streets crowded with people, the 
assemblage of many distinguished personages to do honor to 
the occasion, the gathering together of more than three tliou- 
sand veterans of the war who were comrades on weary 
marches, lonely bivouacs and bloody fields, irresistably 
turned the mind back more than a quarter of a centurv to a 
time when the whole nation swayed and staggered under the 
mighty power of civil war ; when far away under the South- 
ern sun, the true-hearted "boys in blue" were giving their 
lives to protect those institutions that were priceless heirlooms 



78 THE DAT. 

to the loyal northern heart. Nashua in tender remembrance, 
had called together her sons and daughters to do honor to those 
hei'oes and their surviving comrades. 

Before eight o'clock, hundreds of vehicles that brought visit- 
ors from the suburbs and the adjoining towns were upon the 
streets, and the highways were thronged with thousands of 
pedestrians. 

The arrival of the early railway trains brought large delega- 
tions, and when the later trains came rolling in, they were liter- 
ally burdened with loads of war veterans and people from the 
cities and towns of the State and Massachusetts, and invited 
guests from places both near and remote. The visiting Grand 
Armv Posts, Veteran Soldiers and Sailors unattached, the Mil- 
itary and other organizations, and invited guests were received 
and welcomed upon their arrival at the several railroad stations 
b}' soecial committees of citizens, and escorted to the various 
rendezvous. The veterans, the military and other organized 
bodies were then " off duty " until the call for dinner. All 
other specially invited guests were escorted to the City Hall, 
where the Mayor and members of the City Councils and the 
general committee on reception warmly welcomed them. 

Provision had been made to organize a Division composed 
of veterans who should be present, unattached to any post or 
other organization. Col. Dana W. King was assigned to 
duty, as chief of this Division. He established a rendezvous 
at the park in Railroad Square, and appointed special aids, 
with instructions to attend the arrival of all railroad trains, 
and otherwise to scour the city in search of recruits, to enlist 
for the day and march under the flag of this old veteran's divis- 
ion. This resulted in the gathering at the rendezvous of more 
than an hundred grizzled veterans who were heartily wel- 
comed, and were gratified that Nashua had provided a place 



THE DAT. 79 

for them, although nearly all had come to town as strangers. 
Col. King organized them as a battalion, which comprised in 
its ranks many men of eminence, among whom were a Past 
Department Commander of Maine and many others of equal 
rank who had served their country on land or sea. After din- 
ing with the thousands on the North Common, this batallion 
was assigned to a place in the line on the right of the fourth 
division. The Lisbon Drum Corps, 22 pieces, Bailey, leader, 
which played martial music after the manner of fifty years ago 
marched proudly at the head of this unique command. 

Twelve o'clock, noon, was announced in general orders as 
the hour for dinner. Preparation had been made to entertain 
all guests of the city with dinner and other needed refresh- 
ments. The committee on entertainment had made ample 
provision to furnish " a square meal " to every old soldier and 
sailor in Nashua on that day, — whether in or out of the Grand 
Army of the Republic — to all the Military, and to all the Sons 
of Veterans present. Two Yale tents of the largest size were 
pitched on the North Common, and in these tents, between the 
hours of twelve and one o'clock, forty-five hundred men par- 
took of an abundant dinner. The rations consisted of baked 
beans, beef, ham, and tongue, brown and white bread, dough- 
nuts, pickles, fruit and coffee, and all in ample supply. 

The Mayor in behalf of the City Government had issued 
cards of invitation to his excellency the Governor and Staff, 
to the members of the Governor's Council, the Judges of the 
Supreme Court, the Commander of the Grand Army of the 
Republic of the Department of New Hampshire, and staff, 
the Brigade Commander and the field and staff' officers of the 
New Hampshire National Guard, the New Hampshire dele- 
gation in Congress and many other distinguished guests, to 
partake of a complimentary luncheon at the Tremont House, 



80 THE DAY. 

at 12 M., noon. At this feast, upwards of two hundred guests 
of the city were entertained. 

Some of the visitors were invited to the homes of friends in 
the city ; others were cared for at the hotels, and it is safe to 
say that no guest of the city on that day was unprovided with 
ample, hearty and satifactory entertainment. 

Meanwhile the streets were thronged with a multitude of 
people, and all seemed supremely happy. 



THE PROCESSION. 



THE PROCESSION. 



At one o'clock, p. m., lines were formed by Divisions under 
the direction of Chiefs of Divisions, as announced in General 
Orders and were as follows : — 

First Division upon westerly side of Main street, with right 
resting at Factory street. 

Second Division upon Temple street, right resting upon 
Main street. 

Third Division upon East Pearl street, with right resting 
upon Main street. 

Fourth Division upon Main street, with right resting upon 
Hollis street. 

Half-past one o'clock in the afternoon was the appointed 
time for the column to move. As soon as the several divisions 
were formed, the order to march was sounded, and the proces- 
sion moved in the order given below : — 

Through Main street to Belmont street, thence counter- 
marching through Main to Concord street, Concord street to 
Courtland street, Courtland street to Webster street, Webster 
street to Hall street. Hall street to Concord street, Concord 
street to Crescent street, Crescent street to Abbot street, Abbot 
street to Abbot Square. 



84 THE PROCESSION. 

Assistant Citj Marshal, W. W. Wheeler. 

Platoon of Eight Policemen. 

Chief Marshal, Col. E.J. Copp. 

Chief of Staff, Dr. R. B. Prescott. 

MARSHALS AND AIDS. 

Col. R. P. Staniels of Concord, Col. H. M. Goodrich of Nashua, 

Col. John B. Hall of Manchester, Capt. M. L. Morrison, Peterboro', 

Col. W. E. Spalding of Nashua. Dr. G. F. Wilbur of Nashua, 

Col. J. W. Crosby of Milford, W. A. Gregg of Nashua, 

Maj. W. H. Cheever of Nashua. J. H. Dunlap of Nashua, 

Adjt. C. E. Faxon of Nashua, Capt. C. E.Nelson of Derbj Line, 

Lieut. G. P. Kimball of Nashua, John H. Vickery of Nashua, 

Dr. C. S. Collins of Nashua, P. Lonergan of Nashua, 

G. F. Hammond of Nashua, Darius Whithed of Lowell, 

F. E. Marsh of Nashua, John Welch of Lowell, 

L. P. A. Lavoie of Nashua, Daniel Walker of Lowell, 

B. S. Woods of Nashua, D. W. Hayden of Hollis, 

Col. J. J. Dillon of Manchester, C. H. Moore of Nashua, 

Col. F. E. Kaley of Milford, Arthur D. Ramsdell of Nashua. 

SIGNAL CORPS. 

FIRST DIVISION. 

Second Regiment Band, N. H. N. G., W. A. Cummings, bandmaster. 

First Brigade, New Hampshire National Guard, 

Brig.-Gen, J. N. Patterson, Commanding. 

STAFF. 
Lieut. -Col. George W. Gould, Assistant Adjutant-General, 
Major Albert N. Dow, Assistant Inspector General, 
Major Harry B. Cilley, Inspector of Rifle Practice. 
Major Frank W. Rollins, Judge Advocate, 
Captain Daniel H. Gienty, Aid-de-Camp, 
Captain Frank L. Kimball, Aid-de-Camp, 
Brig. Color Sergeant, Arthur H. Knowlton. 
Second Regiment, New Hampshire National Guard, 
Col. A. W. Metcalf, Commanding. 



THE PROCESSION. , 85 

Lieut.-Col. Jason E. Tolles, 
Major Francis O. Nims, 
First Lieut. Sumner Nims, Adjutant, 
First Lieut. E. W. Emerson, Quartermaster, 
Captain C. A. Roby, Paymaster, 
Major George W. Flagg, Surgeon, 
Captain William H. Nute, Assistant-Surgeon, 
Captain Henry B. Smith, Chaplain. 
Sergeant Major E. P. Whitney, Quartermaster Sergeant G. E. Dan- 
forth, Commissary Sergeant, F. H. Weeks, Hospital Steward, G. C. 
Shedd, Drum Major, S. M. Hoyt, Color Sergeant D. P. Barker, 
Band Master W. A. Cummings. 
Foster Rifles, Co. I. E. H. Parmenter, captain; W. H. Goodspeed, 

first lieutenant ; W. R. Seaman, second lieutenant. 

Smith Rifles, Co. K, of Hillsborough Bridge. L. E. Nichols, captain ; 

John W. Craine, first lieutenant; Homer A. White, second 

lieutenant. 

Keene Light Guard, Co. H. J. P. Wellman, captain; Frank Chapman, 

first lieutenant; E. A. Shaw, second lieutenant. 
Keene Light Guard, Co. G. Charles W. Starkey, captain; E. O. Up- 

ham, first lieutenant; Charles E. Joslin, second lieutenant. 
Company C, of Nashua. Hiram S. Stevens, captain ; Arthur D. Far- 
ley, first lieutenant; William H. Livingstone, second lieutenant. 
Manchester Battalion of Infantry. 
Col. G. M. L. Lane, Commanding. 
Drum Corps of Company K, First Regiment, N. H. N. G. Six men. 
Col. G. M. L. Lane, 
Major P. A. Devine, 

Acting Adjutant, First Lieut. J. F. Reardon, 
Quartermaster Sergeant, T. E. F. McDerby, 
Sheridan Guards, Co. B, First Regiment, N. H. N. G. D. F. Shea, 
captain; J. F. Reardon, first lieutenant; William Sullivan. 
• second lieutenant. 
City Guards, Co. E, First Regiment, N. H. N. G. B. N. Wilson, 
captain; Frank W. Tibbitts, first lientenant; John B. 
Rogers, second lieutenant. 



86 THE PROCESSION. 

Manchester High School Cadets. W. Parker, captain; A. W. Morgan, 

first lieutenant; A. F. Wheat, second lieutenant. 
Lafayette Guards, Co. H, First Regiment, N. H. N. G. Jeremie H. 

Soley, first lieutenant; Frank H. Lussier, second lieutenant. 

Company K, of Manchester, First Regiment, N. H. N. G. P. H. 

O'Malley, captain; T. H. Kendrigan, first lieutenant, John 

Fitzmorice, second lieutenant. 

Detachment Third Regiment, New Hampshire National Guard. 

Maj. William A. Messer, Commanding. 
V/eston Guards, Co. D, Pittsfield, Walter Langmaid, first lieutenant ; 

commanding; Delta H. Merrill, second lieutenant. 

State Capital Guards, Co. C, Concord, William C. Trenoweth, captain ; 

H. B. Roby, first lieutenant; Thomas P. Davis, second 

lieutenant. 

Manchester Cornet Band, J. D. Ricord, leader. 

Amoskeag Veterans, Major E. F. Trow, Commanaing; Captain John 

B. Abbot, Adjutant. 
Manchester Cadets, Frank L. Downs, captain; Ed. T. KnowUon, first 

lieutenant; Ed. R. Robinson, second lieutenant. 

Nashua High School Cadets, R. S. W^ason, captain; M. W. Mitchell, 

first lieutenant; W. S. Williams, second lieutenant. 

HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR OF NEW HAMPSHIRE, 
AND STAFF, (^Mounted.) 
His Excellency, David H. Goodell, Governor, 
Maj-Gen. Augustus D. Ayling, Adjutant-General, Concord, 
Brig.-Gen. Elbert Wheeler, Inspector-General, Nashua, 
Brig. -General Charles O. Hurlbut, Q^iartermaster-General, Lebanon, 
Brig.-Gen. Sylvester Little, Commissary-General, Antrim, 
Brig.-Gen. John H. Cutler, Surgeon-General, Peterborough, 
Col. Fred A. Palmer, Aide-de-Camp, Derry Depot, 
Col. Daniel F. Healy, Aide-de-Camp, Manchester, 
Col. Stephen S. Jewett, Aide-de-Camp, Laconia, 
Col. Edward M. Gilman, Aide-de-Camp, Nashua. 



THE PROCESSION. 87 

First Light Battery, N. H. N. G. 
Samuel S. Piper, Captain, 
Edward H. Currier, First Lieutenant, 
Silas R. Wallace, First Lieutenant, 
John A. Barker, Second Lieutenant. 

SECOND DIVISION. 

Dunstable Cornet Band, C. W. Spalding, leader. 
Captain Charles W. Stevens, Chief of Division, and Staff. 
John G. Foster Post, No. 7, G. A. R., Nashua, Alfred Chase, com- 
mander. 
General J. G. Foster Post, No. 163, G. A. R., South Framingham, 
Mass., William F. Brown, commander. 
Worcester Cornet Band. 

Geoi-ge A. Ward Post, No. 10, G. A. R., Worcester, Mass., A. M. Par- 
ker, commander. 
General Lander Post, No. 5, G. A. R., Lynn, Mass., Eli W. Hall, 
commander. 

Major Howe Post, No. 47, G. A. R., Haverhill, Mass., 

commander. 

Lowell Cornet Band. 

B. F. Butler Post, No. 42, G. A. R., Lowell, Mass., Charles A. R. Di- 

mon, commander. 

Cornet Band. 

James A. Garfield, Post, No. 120, G. A. R., Lowell, Mass., L. A. 

French, commander. 

Cornet Band. 

Ladd and Whitney Post, No. 18.5. G. A. R., Lowell, Mass., Franklin 

S. Pevey, commander. 
E. S. Clark Post. No. llo, G. A. R., Groton, Mass., John S. Hartwell, 

commander. 
George S. Boutwell Post. No. 48, G. A. R., Aver, Mass., George L. 

Sawyer, commander. 

Thomas A. Parker, Post, No. 19.5, G. A. R., Pepperell, Mass., George 

H. Morrill, commander. 



88 THE PROCESSION. 

Old Concord Post, No. 180, G. A. R., Concord. Mass., George F. 

Wheeler, commander. 

Edwin V. Sumner Post, No. 19, G. A. R., Fitchburg, Mass., Charles 

H. Glazier, coinmander. 

THIRD DIVISION. 

MiLFORD Cornet Band, D. Arthur Vittum, leader. 

Captain M. A. Taylor, Chief of Division, and Staff. 

Oliver W. Lull Post, No. 11, G. A. R., Milford, N. H., II. F. Warren, 

commander. 
Louis Bell Post, No. 3, G. A. R., Manchester, N. H., Charles A. Frost, 

commander. 
Willard K. Cobb Post, No. 20, G. A. R., Pittsfield, N. H., John M. 

Gilman, commander. 
Stover Post, No. 1, G. A. R., Portsmouth, N. H., B. Stowe Laskey, 

commander. 

DoA^R Cornet Band. 

C. W. Sawyer Post, No. 17, G. A. R., Dover, N. H., William Drew, 

commander. 
E. E. Sturtevant Post, No. 2, G. A. R., Concord, N. H., E. H. Dixon, 

commander. 
William I. Brown Post, No. 31, G. A. R., Penacook, N. H., D. E. 

Jones, commander. 
Bell Post, No. 74, G. A. R., Chester, N. H., A. D. Emery, commander. 
A. A. Livermore Post, No. 71, G. A. R., Wilton, N. H., H. L. Emer- 
son, commander. 
G. H. Phelps Post, No. 43, G. A. R., Amherst, N. H., Cyrus Cross, 

commander. 
Upton Post, No. 45, G. A. R., Derry, N. H.. W. H. Thomas, com- 
mander. 
Wesley D. Knight Post, No. 41, G. A. R., Londonderry, N. H.. W. P. 
Nevins, commander. 
Peterborough Cornet Band. 
Aaron F. Stevens Post, No. 6, G. A. R., Peterborough, N. H., Charles 

R. Peaslee, commander. 
J. H. Worcester Post, No. 30, G. A. R., Hollis, N. H., Isaac W. Pierce, 

commander. 



THE PROCESSION. 89 

E. N. Taft Post, No. 19, G. A. R., Winchester, N. H., John W. Ham- 
mond, commander. 
Harvey Holt Post, No. 15, Lyndeborough, N. H., Jason Holt, com- 
mander. 
Oilman E. Sleeper Post. No. 60, G. A. R., Salem, N. H., C E. Conant, 

commander. 
Stark Fellows Post, No. 46, G. A. R., Weare, N. H., A. F. Page, com- 
mander. 
Herman Shedd Post, No. 27, G. A. R., Greenville, N. H., Thomas E. 
Marshall, commander. 
Hillsborough Cornet Band. 
Senator Grimes Post, No. 25, G. A. R., Hillsborough Bridge, N. H., 

E. L. Carr, commander. 
Ephraim Weston Post, No. 89, G. A. R., Antrim, N. H., Leander Em- 
ery, commander. 
John Sedgwick Post, No. -i, G. A. R., Keene, N. H., Walter W. Gla- 
zier, commander. 
Fremont Cadet Band. 
Joe Hooker Post, No. .■,!, G. A. R., Fremont, N. H., David W. Coffin, 

commander. 
Col. Putnam Post, No. .5, G. A. R., Hopkinton, N. H., Sylvester W. 

Perry, commander. 
Davis Post, No. 44. G. A. R., West Concord, N. H., Abiel C. Abbott, 

commander. 

Post, No. — , G. A. R., Danville. N. H., David B. Cu- 

mer, commander. 

FOURTH DIVISION. 

Lisbon Drum Corps, Twenty-two Men, Bailey, leader. 

Captain George E. Heath, Chief of Division and Staff. 
Division of Veterans, (Soldiers and Sailors unattached,) Col. Dana 
W. King, commanding. 
Lieutenant-Colonel, Natt Shackford, 
Major, Captain Charles E. Buzzell, 
Adjutant, Eri Oaks. 
Sons of Veterans, Col. B. O. Roby, commanding. 



90 THE PROCESSION. 

J. C^ A. Warren Camp, No. 18, Sons of Veterans. George E. Cross, 
captain; Eugene H. Paige, first lieutenant; James H. Thorn- 
ton, second lieutenant. 

Civic Organizations. 
Ancient Order of" Hibernians, Division No. 1. John M. Lee, presi- 
dent; Patrick Lonergan, marshal; Patrick E. Moran, as- 
sistant marshal. 
Union St. Jean Baptiste Society. E. D. Perrault, president; Dorilla 
Cardin, marshal; Rev. J. B. H. V. Millette and Rev. H. A. 
Lessard, chaplains. 
Ancient Order of Hibernians, Division No. 2. J. J. Dojle, president; 
Marshal. 

City Government and Invited Guests, as follows : 

Barouche containing His Honor, Charles H. Burke, Major; Hon. 
Charles H. Burns, Orator of the Day; Rev. G. W. Grover, Chap- 
lain; Col. J. W. Grimes, Commander of the Grand Army of the 
Republic, Department of New Hampshire. 

Barouche containing Col. Thomas Cogswell, Senior Vice-Commander, 
G. A. R., Department of New Hampshire; Hon. George E. Hodg- 
don, Junior Vice-Commander, G. A. R., Department of New 
Hampshire; Rev. J. R. Wilkins, Acting-Chaplain, G. A. R., De- 
partment of New Hampshire ; James Minot, Assistant Adjutant- 
General, G. A. R., Department of New Hampshire. 

Barouche containing Isaac W. Hammond, Assistant Quartermaster 
General, G. A. R., Department of New Hampshire; Liberty W. 
Foskett, Inspector, G. A. R., Department of New Hampshire; 
Col. Daniel Hall, Judge Advocate, G. A. R., Department of New- 
Hampshire ; William H. Tripp, Chief Mustering Officer, G. A. R., 
Department of New Hampshire. 

Barouches containing the members of the Board of Aldermen of the 
City of Nashua. 

Barouches containing the members of the Common Council of the City 
of Nashua. 

Barouche containing T. M. Perry, Architect, and Messrs. Frederick & 
Field, Contractors, and R. A. Maxfield, Esq. 

Barouche containing the Building Committee of the Monument. 



THE PROCESSION. 91 

Barouche containing the Majors of Concord, Manchester, Dover and 
Keene. 

Barouches containing Ex-Mayors of Nashua : Honorables V. C. Oilman, 
G. H. Whitney, S. D. Chandler, F. A. McKean, Charles Holman, 
A. M. Norton, J. A. Spalding and James H. Tolles. 

Barouche containing Ex-Mayor Dr. Edward Spalding; Hon. Isaac W. 
Smith, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of New Hampshire; 
Ex-Governor Frederick Smyth, and Ex-Governor P. C. Cheney. 

Barouche containing Ex-Governor B. F. Prescott; Ex-Governor Moody 
Currier; Gen. D. M. White, and Col. Thomas G. Banks. 

Barouche containing members of Governor's Council, Hons. Charles 
H. Horton; Edward C. Shirley; William S. Pillsbury, Frank C. 
Churchill, and Hon. David A. Gregg. 

Barouche containing United States Senator Henry W. Blair; Congress- 
men Alonzo Nute and Orren C. Moore ; and E. S. Cutter, Esq. 

Barouche containing Ex-Congressmen M. A. Haynes, Dr. J. H. Gal- 
linger, Luther F. McKinney ; and W. W. Bailey, Esq. 

Barouche containing Major A. B. Thompson, Secretary of State of 
New Hampshire; Solon A. Carter, State Treasurer; Hon. J. W. 
Patterson, Superintendent of Public Instruction, and Major Archi- 
bald H. Dunlap. 

Barouche containing Gen. S. G. Griffin, Gen. M. T. Donahoe, Col. 
Babbitt (9th N. H. Vols.) and Col. Hapgood, (.5th N. H. Vols.) 

Barouche containing Gen. E. S. Greeley; Mr. Charles P. Clark, (late 
Commander, U. S. N.) Col. French and Col. H. M. Putney, 
(chairman Board of Railway Commissioners for New Hampshire.) 

Barouche containing Hon. Mark F. Burns (Ex-Mayor of Somerville, 
Mass.), Hon. George A. Marden, of Lowell; H. A. Barton, Esq., 
and Hon. E. P. Brown. 

Barouche containing Hon. Sam. W. Dickinson, George W. Burke, Esq., 
A. N. Flinn, Esq., and John Field, Esq. 

Barouche containing Ex-Department Commanders, G. A. R., of New 
Hampshire, James E. Larkin, William H. Trickey, T. W. Challis 
and Alvin S. Eaton. 

Barouche containing Ex-Department Commanders, G. A. R., of New 
Hampshire, John C. Linehan, Marcus N. Collis, George Farr, and 
Otis C. Wyatt. 



92 THE PROCESSION. 

Barouche containing Hon. Henry D. Upton, Speaker of House of Rep- 
resentatives of New Hampshire; Capt. D. B. Newhall ; Capt. W. 
K. Norton, and Hon. E. O. Blunt. 

Barouche containing Hon. D. A. Taggart, President of the Senate of 
New Hampshire; Thomas D. Luce, Esq., Clerk of the Supreme 
Court of Hillsborough County; Capt. Charles D. Copp, and Mr. O. 
Williams, Superintendent of Public Schools, Nashua. 

Barouches containing Representatives of the Press. 

Barouches containing members of the General Committee of Arrange- 
ments ; Committee on Entertainment; Committee on Invitation; 
Committee on Order of Exercises and Printing; Committee on 
Transportation ; Committee on Decorations ; Committee on Mu- 
sic; Committee on Carriages, and Committee on Reception. 
Other Guests in Carriages. 
Citizens in Carriages. 



THE DEDICATION. 



THE DEDICATION. 



A raised platform or grand stand which seated nearly a thou- 
sand people was erected on the South side, or front, of the 
Monument, on Abbot Square. 

Admission to this platform was by ticket, in the distribution 
of which especial effort was made to furnish them to widows 
and female relatives of soldiers and sailors who have joined 
the silent majority, and to the families of living veterans. 

On this platform were seated, besides those above mentioned, 
the members of the City Government, the Governor's Council, 
State Officers, ex-Governors of the State, Judges of the Su- 
preme Court, the Congressional Delegation from New Hamp- 
shire, Mayors of New Hampshire cities, United States Gov- 
ernment officials. Past Commanders and other Past Depart- 
ment officers of the G. A. R. for New Hampshire, Nashua 
veterans residing outside the State, representatives of the 
press, and other distinguished guests. 

Another and smaller stand was erected on the west side of 
the Monument, on which were seated the Governor and Staff, 
the Commander of the Grand Army of the Republic and Staff, 
the Orator, the Chaplain of the Day, the Mayor of Nashua 
and the Building Committee of the Monument. 

The ceremonies were in the following order : — 



96 THE DEDICATION. 

DEDICATION 

OF THB 

SOLDIERS' AND SAILORS' MONUMENT. 

NASHUA, N. H., OCTOBER 15, 1889. 



Programme at Abbot Square. 

(At 3 o'clock, p. m.) 

1. Announcement by His Honor, Chas. H. Burke, Mayor of Nash- 

ua. 

2. Invocation by the Chaplain of the Day, Rev. G. W. Grover. 

3. Unveiling the Monument, by Miss Jennie Josephine Chase, six 

years of age, daughter of the Commander of J. G. Foster Post 
No. 7, G. A. R., and 
Delivery of the Monument to the City in behalf of the Build- 
ing Committee, by Col. Frank G. Noyes. 

(Following the unveiling of the Monument a National Sa- 
lute was fired from the North Common by the 1st Battery, 
N. H. N. G., Capt. S. S. Piper Commanding.) 

4. Address upon Receiving the Monument in behalf of City, by 

His Honor, the Mayor. 

5. National Anthem, " America," sung by the audience, led by the 

Second Regiment Band, N. H. N. G. 

My country! 'tis of thee 
Sweet land of liberty 

Of thee I sing; 
Land where my fathers died 
Land of the pilgrim's pride; 
From ev'ry mountain side. 

Let freedom ring. 

My native country ! thee — 
Land of the noble free, 

Thy name I love : 
I love thy rocks and rills, 
Thy woods and templed hills, 
My heart with rapture thrills, 

Like that above. 

Let music swell the breeze 
And ring from all the trees 

Sweet freedom's song; 
Let mortal tongues awake. 
Let all that bre'athe partake, 
Let rocks their silence break. 

The sound prolong. 



THE DEDICATION. 97 

6. Presentation of Col. James F. Grimes, Commander of the 

Grand Army of the Republic for the Department of New 
Hampshire, bj His Honor, the Major, with the request that 
the Monument be dedicated in accordance with the ritual of the 
Order of the Grand Armj'. 

7. Dedication of the Monument bj the Department Commander 

and Staff of the Grand Army of the Republic, assisted by the 
comrades of the Order. 

8. Oration by Hon. Charles H. Burns of Wilton. 

9. Benediction by the Acting Chaplain of the G. A. R. for the De- 

partment of New Hampshire, Rev. E. R. Wilkins, of Concord. 

UNVEILING OF THE MONUMENT, AND ITS FORMAL DELIVERY 
TO THE CITY. 

Upon arriving at Abbot Square, the column of procession 
was broken and massed around the Monument by the Chief 
Marshal. 

The audience was called to order by Mayor Burke, who 
briefly announced the object of the occasion. 

The Mayor then introduced the Chaplain of the Day, Rev. 
George W. Grover, who invoked the blessing of Deity. 

The Building Committee of the Monument then arose, 
advanced to the front of the stand before the Mayor, and 
Colonel Frank G. Noyes in their behalf, formally delivered 
the Monument to the City. 

Colonel Noyes spoke as follows : — 
Your Ho7tor^ the Mayor of Nashua : — 

By the instruction and in the name and behalf of the commit- 
tee to whom was delegated by the City Councils of Nashua, the 
duty and power to carry out the provisions of a resolution au- 
thorizing the building of a Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument by 
the people of this city, I announce to you, sir, as its chief mag- 
istrate, that our labors are ended, our work is done. Before 
you, behold the result ! 



98 THE DEDICATION. 

[At this point the Monument was unveiled by Miss Jennie J. 
Chase, six years of age, daughter of Commander Chase of Post 
7, amid the booming of artillery, ringing of bells, music from 
the bands and general hurrahs from the thousands assembled, 
and a salute of 42 guns was fired from the North Common by 
the First Light Battery, N. H. N. G., Capt. S. S. Piper, com- 
manding.] 

Colonel Noyes then continued : — 

It only remains for the committee to surrender to the city the 
product of their labor. Therefore, b}^ authority of the Build- 
ing committee here present, to you, sir, as the legal and prop- 
er representative of the City of Nashua, I now deliver this 
Monument. Receive it, sir, as free from stain and we trust as 
enduring, as are the deeds of the men whose memories it is in- 
tended to perpetuate. 

MAYOR BURKE's ADDRESS. 

Mayor Burke then accepted the Monument in behalf of the 
City, and addressed the people as follows : — 

Gentlemen of the Building Committee and Felloiv Citi- 
zens : — 

As Mayor, it becomes my duty as well as pleasure, to receive 
in behalf of the City of Nashua, from your hands, this beauti- 
ful and enduring memorial erected by our grateful city as a tri- 
bute to her sons who perilled their lives in their country's 
cause, and which is now to be dedicated with appropriate cere- 
monies. 

Gentlemen of the Building Committee, it gives me pleasure 
to thank you in behalf of the City Councils and the citizens 
generally, for the faithful discharge of the high trust confided 
to you, and for the unceasing and untiring labors that have 



MA TOR BURKE'S ADDRESS. 99 

brought forth this Monument, — the consummation of months 
of earnest eflbrt, — which reveals to-day one of the most noble 
and artistic memorial structures ever erected within the borders 
of our State. 

Nearly a quarter of a century has elapsed since the close of 
the civil war, " harvests wave on its battlefields and time has 
obliterated its forts and trenches and softened the prejudices 
and passions kindled by the strife." 

To the stranger within our gates it may seem that Nashua 
at this late day has been tardy in fulfilling the patriotic and 
sacred duty in here marking, in appropriate form, her senti- 
ments of gratitude to her citizen soldiers. 

Shortly after the close of the war of the rebellion, the City 
Government voted an appropriation of $12,000 to commemo- 
rate the gallant deeds of its sons in that contest, but in conse- 
quence of a great diversity of opinion and the lack of unan- 
imity on the part of our citizens as to the location, or as to 
whether a Monument or a Memorial Hall should be built, 
the matter was deferred, and although agitated and discussed 
from time to time, no definite action was taken until the 
present year, when it was reserved for the City Councils of 
1889, which I have the honor to represent, to provide for and 
locate upon this historic square, the structure now before us. 
A fitting and a worthy tribute to the brave men and the great 
sacrifices they made for the prcsei^vation of the Union ! A 
Monument that will be a lasting ornament to the City. You 
have made it of granite and bronze, that it may withstand the 
ravages of time, and teach to one generation after another les- 
sons of loyalty and patriotism. 

Upon its top you have erected, carved in solid granite from 
the quarries of New Hampshii"e, a statue representing Victory, 

with a crown upon her head which denotes the supremacy of 

L.c\ C. 



100 MAYOR BURKE'S ADDRESS. 

the government ; her right hand rests upon the United States 
shield, and in her left hand she holds a laurel wreath, which 
are emblematic of triumph, peace, and the end of sectional 
strife. The bronze statues of heroic size and in active atti- 
tude, and the emblems, which collectively represent the prin- 
cipal divisions of the service of the army and navy, are origi- 
nal and of artistic merit. 

Upon the four sides of the base of the pedestal are bronze 
bas-reliefs, — that upon the West representing, in plastic art, 
scenes and incidents that illustrate well, in a simple manner, 
the fruits of the victory in the greatest struggle for human 
rights the world has ever known. 

That upon the East portrays the naval engagement between 
the United States sloop of war Kearsarge and the notorious 
and dreaded Confederate cruiser Alabama. Famous as is this 
battle throughout the world, it is especially memorable to us, 
from the fact that the Kearsarge was named for one of tlie 
mountains of the old Granite State, and also because one of 
Nashua's bravest sons was the executive officer of the victorious 
vessel in that conflict that dragged down the rebel flag, and 
sent the arrogant corsair ship to the bottom of the Atlantic, oft' 
the coast of France. The inscription on the South face of the 
Monument proclaims it to be erected as "A tribute of honor 
to the men of Nashua who served their country on land or sea 
during the war of the rebellion and aided in preserving the in- 
tegrity of the Federal Union." This inscription, simple in lan- 
guage, is an impressive and fitting expression of the public 
appreciation of the brave deeds of the living and dead. 

Upon the North side, in raised letters of polished bronze are 
inscribed famous expressions touching the union of the States, 
uttered by the lips of some of the nation's heroes and greatest 
men, from the days when the fathers of the Republic laid the 



THE DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 101 

foundation of our government, down to the present decade. 
There they will be read and pondered by those who succeed 
us, and in the history of our country they are recorded and will 
be remembered long after this Monument, with its soldier and 
sailor of bronze, shall perhaps have crumbled and become a 
shapeless mass. 

Fellow Citizens : May we hope that with the completion of 
this long deferred but just tribute to Nashua's sons, our city has 
emerged from a comparatively inert past into an active, en- 
terprising and expanding present, an epoch of wise progress 
in the community, a period of material prosperity that shall 
mark the beginning of the best and grandest history in the life 
of our city. 

Living under the best form of government in the history of 
the world, let us cherish the hope that those who are to come 
after us may look back, over the track of centuries past, upon 
the Monument we now^ erect as the memorial of a still united 
and happy country. 

THE DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 

Mayor Burke then addressed Commander Grimes as fol- 
lows : — 

Commander Grimes of the Grand Ar?ny of the Republic 
for the Department of New Ham.pshire. 

Mr. Commander : — 

You have gratified and honored the people of Nashua by 
appearing here accompanied by the distinguished veteran offi- 
cei's and comrades who compose your command, in response 
to an invitation extended to you by our municipal councils to 
perform the solemn ceremony of dedicating this Monument, 
erected to honor the men of Nashua who served their country 



102 THE DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 

on land or sea during the war of the i-ebellion and aided in 
preserving the integrity of the Federal Union. 

It is therefore my agreeable duty to ask you now to assume 
the direction of aftairs, so that the good work may be accom- 
plish in accordance with the ritual of the order of the Grand 
Army of the Republic. 

Commander James F. Grimes gracefully accepted the invi- 
tation to dedicate the Monument and proceeded with the ritual 
of the order, being assisted by the Senior Vice Commander 
Thomas Cogswell ; Junior Vice Commander George E. Hodg- 
don; Rev. E. R. Wilkins and Acting Chaplain, Officer of the 
Day G. F. Bailey. 

Col. Grimes spoke as follows : — 

Mr. Mayor : — 

In the name of my comrades of the Grand Army of the Re- 
public, representing as they do all soldiers and sailors who de- 
fended the integrity and authority of the nation, I thank you 
and those whom you represent for this memorial shaft. Its 
very silence is impressive. VVithout articulate speech, it is 
eloquent. It needs no words. It is itself an oration. It as- 
sures us that our dead are kept in remembrance, — those dead 
who gave their lives for the security of the citizens and the 
union of the states. It is significant of brave and loval obedi- 
ence to the command of the nation always and everywhere, 
since the obligations of citizenship are not restricted to time or 
place or to conflict of arms. It gives encouragement for the 
future, since the recognition and approval it gives of patriotic 
fidelity and heroism will be an incentive for the display of pub- 
lic valor and virtue in all coming time. There can be no 
doubt, sir, that the honor you pay to the patriot dead, and to 
their memorable deeds, will serve not only to make American 



THE DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 103 

citizenship in these days niore reputable, but also to maintain 
and perpetuate, through all future generations the union and 
authority of the United States of America. 
Adjutant, you will detail a guard of honor. 

[The Adjutant called the following names : James A. Reed, 
James L. Bui-gess, James Blood and A. C Gordon, on the 
part of the soldiers, and Edwin H. Webster, C. H. Holden, 
and William Nelson on the part of the sailors, — each man as 
his name was called, answering "• Here."] 

Adjutant. — Commander, the guard is present. 

Commander. — Officer of the Day, you will direct the Offi- 
cer of the Guai'd to station this detail about the memorial 
shaft. 

Commander . — Holy Scripture saith : — 

The Lord gave the word : great was the army of those that 
publish it. Ps. Lxviii, ii. 

Declare ye among the nations and publish and set up a 
standard. Jer. i. 2. 

In the name of our God we will set up our banners. Ps. xx. 5. 

Officer of the Day, you will order the Guard of Honor to 
display our flag. 

Officer of the Day. — Officer of the Guard, let the flag be 
displayed. 

Music — Band. " Star Spangled Banner." 

Commander . — The forces of the Nation are divided into 
two great arms, that of the navy and that of the army. Sen- 
ior Vice-Commander, what word of the Holy Scripture may 
apply to the 

NAVY } 

Senior Vice- Commander . — They that go down to the sea in 
ships, that do business in great watei's, these see all the works 



j04 THE DEDICATORY EXERCISES, 

of the Lord and His wonders in thu deep. For He command- 
eth and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves 
thereof. Then they crv unto the Lord in their trouble, and He 
bringeth them out of their distresses. He maketh the storm 
a cahn, so that the waves thereof are still. Then are they glad 
because they be quiet, so He bringeth them unto their desired 
iiaven. Oh, that men wo\dd praise the Lord for His goodness, 
and for His wonderful works to the children of men. Ps. cvii, 
23, 24, 28-32. 

Commander. — Officer of the Day, let the Guard of Honor 
set up the symbol of the navy, and let a sailor be detailed to 
guard it. 

[An anchor was then set up against the shaft, crossed with a 
cutlass and boarding-pike. A comrade, dressed as a sailor, 
stood guard with drawn cutlass.] 

Cojnjfiander. — Junior Vice-Commander, what scripture may 
apply to the 

ARMY ? 

yunior Vice-Com.mander, — To your tents, O Israel. So 
ail Israel went to their tents. — 2 Chron. x. 16. The children 
of Israel shall pitch their tents, every man by his own camp, 
and every man by his own standard, throughout their hosts. — 
Num. i. 52. Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee, 
that it may be displayed because of the truth. — Ps. lx. 4. The 
Lord shall utter His voice before His army; for His camp is 
very great ; for he is strong that executeth His word ; for the 
day of the Lord is great and very terrible ; and who can abide 
it? — Joel ii, 11. Some trust in chariots and some in horses; 
but we will remember the name of the Lord our God. Ps. 
XX. 7. 

Commander. — Officer of the Day, let the Guard of Honor 



THE DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 105 

set up the symbol of the Army, and let a soldier be detailed to 
guard it. 

[A musket with fixed l)ayonet, canteen and haversack hang- 
ing- from it, knapsack leaning against the stock, was set up 
against the shaft opposite to the anchor. A comrade in fviU 
soldier uniform, armed with a musket with fixed bayonet stood 
guard.] 

Commander. — Officer of the Day, if the work of navy and 
army be well done, what proclamation from Holy Scripture 
can you make ? 

Officer of the Day. — A proclamation of peace. 

Lord, Thou wilt ordain peace for us : for Thou also hath 
wrought all our works in us. — Isaiah xxvi, 12. How beauti- 
ful upon the mountains are the feet of Him that bringeth good 
tidings, that publisheth peace, that bringeth good tidings, 
that publisheth salvation ; that sayeth unto Zion, thy God 
reigneth. The Lord hath made bare His holy arm in the eyes 
of all the nations ; and all the ends of the earth shall see the 
salvation of our God. Isaiah Lii, 7, 10. 

ComTnander. — The Chaplain will now offer the praj^er of 
dedication. 

Chaplain. — Almighty God, we thank Thee for Thy sovereign 
care and protection, in that Thou didst lead us in the days that 
were shadowed with trouble, and gavest us strength when the 
burden was heavy upon us, and gavest us courage and guid- 
ance so that after the conflict we have come to these days 
of peace. VVe thank Thee that the wrath of war has been 
stilled, that brother no longer strives against brother, that once 
again we have one country and one flag. 

May Thy blessing be upon us as a people, that we may be 
Thy people, true and righteous in all ways, tender and patient 



106 THE DEDICATORY EXERCISES. 

in our charity, though resolute tor the right ; careful nioi-e 
for the down-trodden than for ourselves, eager to forward 
the interests of every citizen throughout the land, so that 
our couiitiy may be indeed one country from tlie rivers to 
the seas, from the mountains to the plains. 

We pray Thee to make our memories steadfast, that we may 
never forget the generous sacrifices made for our countr}'. 
May our dead be enshrined in our hearts. May tiieir graves 
be the altars of our grateful and reverential patriotism. 

And now, O God, bless Thou this memorial ! 

Bless it, O God, in honor of mothers, who bade their sons 
do brave deeds : 

In honor of wives who wept for husbands who should never 
come back again : 

In honor of children whose heritage is their fallen fathers' 
heroic name : 

In honor of men and women who ministered to the hurt and 
dying : 

But chiefly, O God, in honor of men, who counted not their 
lives dear when their country needed them, of those alike who 
sleep beside the dust of their kindred or under the salt sea. or 
in nameless graves, whei^e only Thine angels stand sentinels 
till the reveille of the resurrection morning. Protect it and let 
it endure, and unto the latest generation may its influence be 
for the education of the citizen, for the honor of civil life, for 
the advancement of the nation, for the blessing of humanity, 
and for the furtherance of Thy holy kingdom. 

Hear us, O our God, we ask it in the name of Him who 
made proof of the dignity and who consecrated the power of 
sacrifice in His blessed life and death, even in the name of 
Jesus Christ, the great Captain of our salvation. Amen. 

Comrades. — Amen. 



THE ORATION. 107 

Commander. — Attention ! Comrades of the Grand Army of 
the Republic. 

In the name of the Grand Army of the Republic, I now 
dedicate this Monument. I dedicate it to the memory of those 
who in the navy guarded our inland seas and ocean coasts, and 
fell in defence of the flag. I dedicate it to the memory of those 
who in the army fought for our hillsides and valleys and plains 
and fell in the defence of the flag. I dedicate it to the memory 
of those brave and gallant men of our Army and Navy, who 
from '61 to '65, left their homes, their families, their friends and 
everything they held near and dear, buckled on the armor of 
war and went forth to do battle in defence of the Nation's hon- 
or that the Nation might live, and fell in defence of the flag. 

Comrades, salute our dead ! 

Commander. — Attention ! At ease. 

Commander. — Mr. Mayor, our service of dedication is 
ended. In the name of my comrades I thank you and those 
who are associated with you, for your courtesy in giving us, 
who are bound by special ties to them, the privilege of dedi- 
cating this Monument, erected to perpetuate the memory of the 
heroic deeds of the Soldiers and Sailors of Nashua, (both liv- 
ing and dead) who fought upon land and sea during the war 
of the Rebellion. 



At this point, the Mayor called the attention of the audience 
and introduced as the Orator of the Day, the Hon. Charles 
H. Burns, of Wilton, who then delivered the following 

ORATION. 

Mr. Mayor and Fcllovj Citizens : — 

" Out of monuments * * * * ^ve doe save and recov- 
er somewhat from the deluge of time." — Lord Bacon. 

For the first time in the history of the city of Nashua have 



108 THE ORATION. 

its people assembled to dedicate a Monument to the everlasting 
honor of its dead and living heroes, whose brave work, on sea 
and land, is now a part of the imperishable story of our nation- 
al struggles. Here it stands, on the historic spot from which 
they went forth to battle, freighted with the liopes and the fears 
and farewells of their fellow men, and to which they were wel- 
comed after peace had been restored, with its back toward the 
unequalled Merrimack, •' along whose smooth margin the 
ashes of our forefathers are laid," with its right to tiie "cloud- 
capped granite hills" of New Hampshire, and its left almost 
touching the borders of the grand old commonweath of Massa- 
chusetts, and its face toward a loving city, whose undying 
gratitude finds but feeble expression in this cold, silent, and 
yet suggestive, monumental shaft. 

Its erection is in accordance with a time-honored custom 
prevailing among our own and other civilized nations ; a cus- 
tom dating so far back, that the " memory of man runneth not 
to the contrary." From almost the very dawn of creation 
traces of monuments which were evidently the work of man 
have been found. There seems to have been an instinct, born 
in the human breast, to erect something that should remain. 
The pyramids of Egypt, the mausoleums containing the bodies 
of distinguished dead, intended to defy the assaults of time ; the 
tablets and monuments erected with marvelous industry through- 
out the ages, revealing an infinite variety of designs and ob- 
jects ; ancient hieroglyphics, cut mountain high, all bear test to 
the ever present desire to perpetuate in some enduring way, the 
deeds and heroism, the accomplishments and the sacrifices, of 
the human race. Away up among the Arctic snows, amidst 
eternal ice, Elisha Kent Kane, at great labor, built a pyramid 
of heavy stones, perched upon a mighty cliff', looking out upon 
"the icy desert," on which he placed the woi-ds " Advance 1853 



THE ORATION. 109 

-54," and surmounted it with the Christian symbol of the cross. 
He did it to remind those who might come after him that he had 
gone before. He did it to symbolize the hope and faith, that 
there would yet be established, in the midst of the ignorance 
and the stupidity and gloom of the frozen north, the power, 
the beauty, the sunshine, and the consolation of the Christian 
religion. 

All over our land, a grateful people, following this touching 
instinct and custom, have constructed testimonials of their sol- 
emn appreciation of the inestimable work of the patriots, who 
saved this nation from the impending ruin of a rebellion, 
which was never before equalled in the life ot nations, and to 
suppress which, more lives were lost than have been sacrificed 
in all the wars of all the nations of the old world since Water- 
loo, a period of seventy-tive years. Almost every village and 
hamlet in the North, can point to its memorial, thus perpetuat- 
ing, so far as possible, as sublime and patriotic incidents and 
events as ever graced the history of any nation known to man. 
The now historic battlefield at Gettysburg, where was fought 
one of the bloodiest and most stupendous battles of the world, 
and which was once covered with the slain of two mighty ar- 
mies, is now dotted all over with monuuients erected by the 
survivors and friends of those who died that the nation might 
live. 

Not only have we placed testimoninis to the valor of our glo- 
rious sons, exhibited on almost numberless battlefields, and in 
great naval wars, for the suppression of the Rebellion, but the 
people of our country, have from the closing moment of the 
great revolution, made manly efforts to erect, and have erected, 
noble structures, commemoiating in manv instances, in a strik- 
ing manner, the great heroism and unselfish patriotism of our 
forefathers, in their mighty struggle to release the American 



no THE ORATION. 

people from the avarice and the tyranny of the people of Great 
Britain. Among the greatest of them all is that matchless 
granite shaft at Bunker Hill. Tt maj- not be as poetic a pile as 
some in Europe ; it may not be as majestic as our great nation- 
al monument at Washington ; it may not be as historic as the 
statue of Liberty which has just been dedicated at "Plymouth 
the land of the Pilgrims," which commemorates events which 
adorn, with the bewitchery of romance, and the sternness of 
cold reality, the struggles, the suflerings, the sacrifices, and 
the achievements of that God-like band of noble souls who 
were the pioneers of the nation ; but, reminding us. as this 
sublime monument does, of the opening scenes of the Revolu- 
tion, and of an era in the history of our country when almost 
every man was a soldier ; of the hour when the minute men of 
New England, left the plough in the furrow, seized the musket, 
and without further preparation, began the struggle for liberty 
in their own dooryards ; and of the fact, that the brave sons of 
our own New Hampshire, were first on the consecrated spot to 
initiate a battle, which might determine whether or not, there 
should be a nation of freemen established on this continent, 
the shaft at Bimker Hill fills us with emotions, not inspired 
by any other monument on the face of the globe ; and, added to 
all this, there is another fact which makes it peculiarlv dear to 
every native of New Hampshire. At the laying of its cor- 
ner-stone in 1825, by Lafayette, then the nation's guest, and 
when it was finally completed and dedicated years afterwards. 
New Hampshire's greatest son, Daniel Webster, spoke words 
of living and patriotic truth, which will abide when the granite 
of which it is made, shall have been dissolved into dust and 
have been lost in the sea that rolls at its base. 

Nothing is so interesting to man as man. The chief charm 
of history is the light it throws upon the people of other days. 



THE ORATION. Ill 

A chair in which a Washington sat, a table on which a 
Shakespeare wrote, a garment worn by some departed hero, a 
temple or monviment commemorative of noble deeds, are ob- 
jects of intense interest ; the objects themselves are trifling, but 
the associations which cluster around them, the events they 
have witnessed or suggest, are important, and thrill with emo- 
tion the beholder who delights to go back in memory and learn 
something of the experiences and the deeds of those who have 
lived in another generation. There is an invisible chain con- 
necting the man dead with the man living. There is a bond 
of sympathy between the life that has been and that which now 
is. Life would be comparatively worthless if it left no abiding 
influence behind, and whatever exemplifies or discloses this 
influence is precious. Out in Oregon, there are trees as huge 
and appai'ently as old as the cedars of Lebanon, but they do 
not attract equal attention with the grand old cedars, because 
they have no known history connected with the human race. 
Jerusalem, with its narrow streets and dingy buildings ; a city 
without commeice, business, or beauty, would be wholly unat- 
tractive, w^ere it not for the religious associations surrounding 
it. It was the city of David, and the Holy Sepulchre is thei-e, 
and thousands traverse the globe, that they may sit and reflect 
within the shadows of its grim, historic walls. Damascus, the 
oldest city in the world, which was powerful in the days of 
Abraham, now has no attractions except in its fallen greatness 
and the strength it once possessed. Men spend their lives in 
exploring the earth for the ruins of cities, long since sunk from 
the light of day, that they may find in their buried bosoms 
something to teach them of the race that was overwhelmed 
with them. At Ph'mouth there is a rough rock, not unlike 
millions of others in New England, surrounded and guarded 
almost as if it was solid gold. It is the stone on which the 



112 THE ORATION. 

feet of the Pilgrims first rested, as they landed on the forest 
covered shores of a new world, and from this spot, has gone 
forth, a marvelous influence greatly promoting the welfare of 
man, and which is destined to be far reaching and eternal. 

This polished shaft, superbly mounted by a haughty but 
graceful female figure — a chaste and thoughtful tribute to the 
self-sacrificing devotion of woman in the great struggle — 
grasping an emblem of victory, although beautiful in design 
and faultless in execution, would be of little value were it not 
that it commemorates immortal deeds. 

It requires heroic acts and a just cause, to make events that 
are fit for eternity. A brave deed in a righteous struggle, is as 
immortal as the soul of him who performs it. When Martin 
Luther, the great exponent of Christianity, three centuries 
ago, standing in the midst of the enslaved nations of Christen- 
dom, resisted the powers of the Papacy assembled in the Vati- 
can, and defied the thunderbolts hurled at him from "that great 
city drunk with the blood of saints and martyrs," he communi- 
cated to the world a mighty impulse, and became the conspic- 
uous leader in the greatest revolution ever effected in human 
affairs, and the work he did will live to the remotest hour of 
coming time. The brave and heroic deeds of old John Brown, 
done in the name of God and humanity, are marching on with 
his soul, and will still march on through the eternal ages. 
When Abraham Lincoln sent forth the edict " Let the bond- 
man go free," a proclamation made possible and effective by 
the sublime heroism of the soldiers of the North, he not only 
thrilled the hearts of fettered millions, but he did a deed which 
will live, long after even the pyramids of Egypt shall have been 
sunk to the level of the Nile. A nobler cause than the defense 
of this mighty nation, when treason sought its overthrow, nev- 
er aroused the patriotism, nor stirred to action, the heroism of 



THE ORATION. 113 

humanity. Never in the conflict of human wills was there a 
mightier struggle, nor one freighted with vaster destinies, and 
never was a great demand more promptly and completely 
honored. It was the supreme moment in our national life. It 
was the hour when the patriotism of the American people was 
put to the vital test. 

How did the sons of Nashua respond to this heroic and heav- 
en born test.? If this hour could be extended to a day, it 
would not be sufficient time, to give in detail the patriotic deeds 
of more than thirteen hundred of her noble soldiers ^vho val- 
iantly served the nation in its terrible ordeal of war. Among 
the many we recall the never to be forgotten William P. Ains- 
worth, young, energetic, brilliant, full of life and enthusiasm ; 
he was among the first to go to the front. We remember his 
lithe figure, mounted on a superb horse, riding up and down 
these streets, recognized and loved by all. He fell at the head 
of his company, while charging the enemy, pierced with many 
bullets, one of the earliest and choicest offerings upon tlie 
altar of his country. John Q. A. Warren, (everybody's 
"Quin") was shot through the heart at Georgia Landing. 
October 27, 1862, while shouting, •• Come on boys, we'll lick 
'em," displaying a bravery, as sublime as that of his great name- 
sake at Bunker Hill. Edgerly, while in the Wilderness, and 
literally surrounded by rebels, swinging defiantly his sword, 
fell, pierced with a bayonet. Thompson and Hosley, Russell, 
Rogers, Button. Bennett, Davis, Towle, Tucker, Nottage. 
Danforth, Andrews, Sullivan, and scores of others who exhib- 
ited equal heroism, falling in the supreme hour, thus securing 
a fame that shall be deathless. 

Among the noble dead, whose brave work now adorns its 
history, we also recall Timothy B. Crowley of the volunteer 
service. Lieutenant Thornton of the navv, and General John G. 



114 THE ORATION. 

Foster of the regular army. General Foster was one of the 
bravest and most distinguished officers of the Union forces in 
the great Civil War ; educated at West Point, and having done 
splendid work in the Mexican War, he brought to the discharge 
of his great duties a perfect equipment, and his record is as 
bright and enduring as the stars. George Bowers, a born sol- 
dier, and a descendant of brave John Lovewell, was a gentle- 
man and a patriot. The heroic deeds of his early career in the 
Mexican War, were fully equalled by his patriotic work in the 
Rebellion, and they stamp him as one of the most gallant and 
generous of Nashua's noble sons. 

Aaron Fletcher Stevens, a leader in a great profession, in 
the full vigor of a splendid manhood, went to the front, did 
efficient work, received severe wounds from which he never re- 
covered, and when peace once more triumphed, came home, and 
for years pursued again with marked success his life work, but at 
last, full of honors, passed on to his exceeding great reward ; and 
when life's fitful fever was almost over, when delirium had tak- 
en captive the brain, the heart, true to its native loyalty, as the 
sunflower turns toward the sun, again yearned for the old flag ; 
and as Napoleon, at St. Helena, in wild imagination, in his 
last hours, was once again at the head of the French armv, 
so General Stevens, in his dying moments, was again at the head 
of his dear old regiment, and in the midst of a raging battle ; 
and he triumphantly cried, "Steady, steady, we shall 3et win 
the battle," and thus died, as true and noble a patriot, as ever 
drew breath . 

Peace to the ashes, rest to the souls, and endless tributes to 
the memories of these laurel crowned patriots and their noble 
comrades. The work they performed in the great conflict de- 
sei^ves, and will receive, the everlasting homage of the city they 



THE ORATION. 115 

so nobly honored, and the country they so gallantly and trium- 
phantly served. 

When the children of Israel had passed over Jordan. Joshua 
in obedience to the command of the Lord, set up twelve stones 
in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the 
priests which bore the ark of the covenant stood firm ; and 
when they had been so placed, he said to the assembled multi- 
tude, "When your children shall ask their fathers in time to 
come, saying, 'What mean these stones.'*' then ye shall let 
your children know, Israel came over this Jordan on drj- land, 
* * * and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the 
children of Israel forever. That all the people of the earth 
might know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty." And so, 
when our children "shall ask their fathers in time to come, 
saying, 'what mean these stones?'" we shall say to them, that 
when red rebellion raised its ghastly hands, seizing this nation 
in Its strangling grasp, and sought to destroy our government, 
perpetuate human slavery and drive freedom from this fair land, 
the feet of our noble sons, who bore aloft their country's flag, 
stood firm ; and that all the world may know and forever re- 
member their matchless fidelity. We shall say to them that 
these stones are for a memorial, intended "to save and recover 
from the deluge of time " the perpetual memory of deeds of 
such sublime patriotism, and of acts of such exalted worth, as 
to desei-ve eternal recognition by coming generations ; that this 
shaft, whose very foundations were laid in sincere and humble 
gratitude for these sacrifices, is erected to constantly remind 
our countrymen, it may be through countless years, of a great 
civil war, in which were fought twenty-two hundred battles 
and skirmishes in four short years, and in which the havoc in 
affection, family ties, and all that makes life precious and 
worth living, is without a parallel in the history of the human 



116 THE ORATION. 

race ; and where the cost in cash and destruction of property 
no one could count in a life-time ; and that in this mighty con- 
flict, Nashua's gallant sons bravely fought, honoring by their 
splendid heroism, their homes, their city, their countr}-, and 
their God. 

This now consecrated shaft stands, not only as a grateful and 
expressive I'ecognition of these unparalleled services, but it 
stands for more than this. It stands for the triumph of patri- 
otism over treason, liberty over license, freedom over slavery, 
manhood over servitude, the school over the street, the home 
over the hovel, citizenship over the slave mart and the auction 
block, law over lawlessness, government over force and fraud 
and fetters. It stands an unwavering and eloquent witness, of 
the undying devotion of the fathers and mothers, the brave sons 
and the fair daughters of this great nation, on sea and on land, 
in peace and in war, to those sublime and eternal principles, 
which exalt the jDeople and republics, and break dov/n tyrants 
and empires. It stands, an impressive testimonial, to the tri- 
umph of that immortal prediction, made by the sainted Lin- 
coln on the battle-stained field at Gettysburg, eighty-seven 
years after the birth of the nation, " That this nation, under 
God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that the govern- 
ment of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not 
perish from the earth." 

The American people have always been most fortunate in 
the character of the men who have fought their battles. It has 
been truly and quaintly said of the brave men who fought the 
early battles of New England, " they were not vagabonds and 
beggers and outcasts, of which armies are sometimes consider- 
ably made up, to run the hazard of war to avoid the dangers of 
stai-ving ; but the}- were the fathers and sons of the best of our 
families." This was conspicuously true of our Civil War. The 



THE ORATION. 117 

best and noblest of the land engaged in the mighty conflict. 
They came from the farm, the shop, the store, the forge, the 
office, the counting room and school room, and from every 
profession and avocation. They were not idlers and loafers, 
but prosperous, energetic men, v^^ho had a vital intei'est in the 
vs'elfare of the nation ; and they formed the most intelligent and 
invincible army that ever went forth in the defence of a conn- 
try. 

Montesquieu, a celebrated author, says : ''In the birth of so- 
cieties it is the chiefs of the Republic who form the institu- 
tion, and in the sequel it is the institution which forms the 
chiefs of the Republic." In the formation of this Republic, it 
was the chiefs of our land who made its institutions, and now^ 
these institutions are making our chiefs. The United vStates 
were supremely blessed in the character of the people who 
first established their government. They were not only bold. 
energetic and conscientious, but they were broadly intelligent, 
They knew something of the experiences, the achievements 
and the failures of other nations, and they had the wisdom to 
be guided by their knowledge, and they established a govern- 
ment, which was not a conspiracy, but a noble compact, in- 
tended to secure universal benefit and freedom. The govern- 
ment in its turn has formed the national character of the peo- 
ple. Its citizens are unsurpassed in intelligence and earnest in 
their devotion, because they are the product of noble institu- 
tions ; they recognize the immense debt they owe their coun- 
try ; they will peril their lives for it, because it deser\-'es their 
affection and their heroism. Tlie protection of a just govern- 
ment is the anchor of the human race. It is the infallible rem- 
edy, that destroys confusionand chaos, and establishes regularit}^ 
and law^. It protects home, property, and life ; without it all the 
ambitions and aspirations and struggles of mankind, every hu- 



118 THE ORATION. 

man benefit, every virtue, every hope or^ expectation, every ex- 
perience of love, every comfort or consolation, every grace or 
talent ; all would be at the mercy of the mob. 

There is no nation on earth which offers to its people such aids 
and inducements, such encouragement and protection as our 
own. When Burns, Scotland's great poet, sang the immortal 
song, "A man's a man for a' that," he voiced the principle 
upon which our government was intended to be established, and 
the great charm and value of the age and country in which we 
live is, that we can be just what we w^ill, and that here every 
person, black or white, man or woman, has an equal chance 
in the race of life. Ours is not a government where a few hun- 
dred people hold the titles to all the landed estate of the nation. 
Here every person can ovv^n a home and an estate. This powder 
to hold and own landed property, is a priceless right, and exerts 
a marvelous influence over the people of the United States. 
The stimulous of proprietorship is the most powerful that can 
be applied to labor. Stuart Mill savs, "If there is a first 
principle in intellectual education it is this: thf<t the discinline, 
which does good to the mind, is that in which it is active, not 
passive. The secret of developing the faculties is to give 
them much to do and much inducement to do it." Few things 
surpass in this respect, the occupation and ownership of prop- 
erty. A. Swiss statistical writer speaks of the almost superhu- 
man industry of peasant proprietors. Arthur Young says, 
"It is the magic of property that turns sand into gold." Mich- 
elet says, " It acts like a ruling passion in France." In Ire- 
land, where the laborer does not own the soil he tills, there is 
a universal want of thrift, almost universal poverty and dis- 
tress. Give a man the fee simple of the soil on which he 
works, and it blushes with untold charms, yields untold crops, 
and crowns him a nobleman. 



CLOSING CEREMONIES. 119 

A government which abounds in institutions so beneficent, 
in laws so just, in opportunities so magnificent ; which protects 
the humblest as the most exalted ; which disseminates intelli- 
gence and inculcates virtue among all its people ; such a gov- 
ernment cannot fail. A people, reared in sueh institutions, 
animated with the spirit of universal liberty, inspired with a 
sacred love of home and country, engaging in causes that are 
great and just, such a people cannot fail. 

" They never fail who die 
In a great cause ; the block may soak their gore ; 
Their heads may sodden in the sun ; their limbs 
Be strung to city gates or castle walls ; 
But still their spirit walks abroad. Though years 
Elapse, and others share as dark a doom, 
They but augment the deep and sweeping thoughts 
Which overspread all others, and conduct 
The world at last to freedoin." 



At the close of the oration by Mr. Burns, the military bands 
played some of the National airs. 

His Honor, the Mayor then addressed the Commander of 
the Grand Army, saying. 

Mr. Commander ^ our exercises are ended. 

The ceremonies of the day were closed as follows : — 

Commander . — Attention ! comrades of the Grand Army 
of the Republic. As we close these services, the Guard of 
Honor is withdrawn, the symbols of the army and navy are 
removed, and the flag is lowered ; but the memorial we have 
dedicated remains, guarded by the sacred memory of our dead. 
So long as it shall endure, it shall speak to us and to all future 
generations, of the patriotic fidelity and heroism displayed by 



120 CLOSING CEREMONIES. 

our army and navy during the dark days of our country's his- 
tory, and of that significant national authority, of which our 
flag is the symbol, to every brave, true and loyal American 
heart. 

Officer of the Day, remove the symbols. Lower the flag. 
Dismiss the guard. 

Chaplain, pronounce the benediction. 

Chaplain. — The grace of our Lord and Saviour Jesus 
Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy 
Spirit, be with us all. Amen. 

Comrades . — Amen. 

At the close of the ceremonies, which were ended as above, 
the Mayor brieflj^ addressed the audience, and in the name of 
the Cit}' of Nashua, extended thanks to all who had honored 
the occasion with their presence, for their participation in the 
exercises of the day. The Mayor then declared the ceremonies 
ended, and ordered the Chief Marshal to dismiss the parade. 



FINAL PROCEEDINGS. 



F!ML PROCEEDINGS. 



At the regular meeting of the City Government, held Decem- 
ber 10, 1889, the following resolution was offered by His 
Honor, the Mayor, and passed unanimously : — 

The City of Nashua, in token of her appreciation of the entire success 
that, in every stage, attended the building of the Soldiers' and Sailors' 
Monument. — erected the present year on Abbot Square, and dedicated 
on the Kth day of October last — and recognizing the hearty and un- 
qualified approval which the object has received from her citizens ; and 
observing with satisfaction that the public has set its seal of approval, 
not only on the structure itself, but also on the ceremonies attending 
the laying of the Corner-Stone and the Dedication, deems it proper to 
place on record an expression of her grateful acknowledgement to those 
who aided in the successful consummation of the undertaking; 
therefore, 

Resolved, That, in addition to the thanks heretofore tendered to 
Col. Frank G. Noyes and Hon. Charles H. Burns, the orators, respec- 
tively, on the occasions of laying the Corner-Stone, and the Dedica- 
tion, — the thanks of the City of Nashua, be hereby extended to — 

The members of the Building Committee ; 

The members of the various committees, that arranged the plans and 
executed the details attending the Dedication ; 

The Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of New 
Hampshire, George W. Currier, Grand Master; 

The Grand Army of the Republic. Col. J. F. Grimes, Department 
Commander; 



124 FINAL PROCEEDINGS. 

Mr. M. A. Taylor, Chief Marshal and his aids on the occasion of 
laying the Corner-Stone ; 

Col. E. J. Copp, Chief Marshal, and his aids on the occasion of the 
Dedication ; 

The guests and visitors, and to 

All organizations and bodies, military and civic, which honored by 
their presance, the occasions of laying the Corner-Stone and Dedica- 
tion of the Monument. 

In Board of Mayor and Aldermen, December 10, 1889. 
Passed. 

Charles H. Burke, Mayor. 
In Board of Common Council, December 27, 1889. 
Passed in concurrence. 

Henry P. Whitney, President. 



Note. — The compiler of this volume — who has done his work at the 
request and under the supervision of the Building Committee, — desires 
to give credit to the Nashua Daily Gazette, and Nashua Daily Tele- 
graph for the extracts he has made from those newspapers ; to the 
Grand Master of Masons of New Hampshire ; to the Commander of 
the Grand Army of the Republic for the Department of New Hamp- 
shire, and to the Chief Marshals on the days of the laying of the 
Corner-Stone, and Dedication of the Monument, for valuable infor- 
mation. 

F. G. N. 

Nashua, Dec 1889. 



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